The sun, the moon, and the pretty little stars
by KaguraSerenityOgata88
Summary: "Okay Kaiba," Joey considered angrily. "Let me just make this clear to you. If you die, I will hate you forever. You hear me? So you get your rich, pampered ass up from that bed right now or I will follow you." This story is about the love of three rich men. Rated M in later chapters for all the elements of a great story: sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll (for language and violence too)
1. Joe the Mechanic

**Attention: I realize you may have read this before but I hadn't touched this story in a year due to being too busy with work and school. Now that I have a decent amount of time of I decided to revise all the chapters and do some updating. It's almost like reading a brand new story. **

Rated M for violence and the raunchy sex Kaiba and Joey are gonna have. And not just them ~_0 Just a heads up for you readers, I started this because I read a jou/kaiba fic that was just terrible. Whenever I read a Kaiba/Joey fic there are a few things that irk me.

1. Joey somehow eventually ends up calling Kaiba, Seto. Cannot tell you how much that bothers me. I feel like that whole Seto thing is so corny. (If I decide to do it won't be until waaaaay later in the story.) I'm not totally against it but at least wait until the feelings run really super deep you know?

2. I always hate it how they make Joey and/or Kaiba really girly, feminine, or bitchy. For the fuck what? You didn't see Joey behave like a desperate housewife on the show did you?

3. The age old story of Joey's father rapes/beats him up so he's a weak bitch that needs saving. Hahahahaha. Oh, the places the human imagination takes us are unparalleled.

4. I also hate it how they change their sexual orientations. They're straight for fuck's sake. And don't even get me started on mpreg. Rape I can handle, it's an unfortunate occurrence in everyday life. Mpreg? Now that's whimsical. That's the shit they make kaleidoscopes out of. Anyone who envisions mpreg is on a flight of fantasy they are never coming down from.

5. Cockblockers. The entire show of Yu-Gi-Oh would be a raging orgy sex party if there weren't so many cockblockers: Friendship, sibling love, and the biggest cockblocker of all, duel monsters. My friends have never stopped me from getting laid but if I had a friend like Anzu, I'd be a virgin till the day I died. Joey and Kaiba are big brothers and I respect that but if I read one more story about how they care more about their siblings than getting laid or anything else, I'm gonna rip my hair out. "I love you, Mokuba! I love you, Shizuka! And absolutely nothing else matters, not even air–" Someone hand me a barf bag. Legit. I don't love MY brother like that. Who says shit like that? Who thinks shit like that? It's not real, it's not even natural. Sibling love has a time and a place, people. Duel Monsters. Don't get me wrong I love the card game and I love its use in the show, but depicting Kaiba's obsession with them is so cockblocking, I can't even go into it.

6. I hate using the English names. I prefer the Japanese names but for the sake of this storyline to keep up the everloving punchline of Joe the mechanic I think I have to use the English names. (This is the one I'm considering changing the most as I absolutely hate saying Tristan, I'm more comfortable saying Honda. However Otogi's kind of weak, Duke Devlin is way sexier. I'm will be debating this aaaaaall fic long. Don't be surprised if you come here one day and all the names are changed back to Japanese. I'm kind of skitzo like that.)

Disclaimer: Don't own any of these characters but I want to. Guess that's why I started this story… Actually I own all the characters that were not on yu-gi-oh. You know, my own personal OC characters.

Even though the main couple of this story is jou/kaiba there are two other couplings I will make and go in depth in this story. I hope you guys enjoy the fanfic and even if you don't please review. It's the only way I feel like I'm not wasting my damn life. Ready? 3, 2, 1, action!

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><p><strong>Joe the Mechanic<strong>

"Son of a bitch!" Kaiba stepped out of the black '67 Mustang and slammed the door behind him. Anger hit him like a tidal wave as he saw gray colored smoke coming from the hood of the car. This was the third time Seto had used this car in his whole life and for the third time the car had stalled and broken down. Luckily he already knew the signs and had parked into some mechanic shop he saw right in the nick of time. In that moment, he wished he had never promised to pick his brother up from the airport in that piece of shit Mokuba called a car. Kaiba pulled out his cell fully intending to give that brat a piece of his mind.

"Dude, where are you? I just got off the plane. I'm about to get mauled by these crazy fans, I don't think I have enough security with me…" Mokuba answered the phone on the fourth ring without even so much as a 'hello' or 'what's up?'

"You want to know where I am? That's what I'd like to know! I pulled into some random exit all because your piece of shit car broke down-AGAIN!" Kaiba rubbed his temple as he was pierced by the screams of Mokuba's followers and their fanatic wails. 'There he is! Kaiba's talking to his brother! He's so hot!' Their dribble was getting louder and louder by the minute.

"Shhh," Mokuba said to someone other than Kaiba and the noise died down considerably. "It's because you don't know how to treat her."

"Just because I've forever spoiled you doesn't mean you can lecture me on cars. I was driving while you were still in diapers."

"But you're only four and a half years older than me."

"Exactly my point. Mokuba, I know how to drive, okay? I drive less reckless than you. The problem is that this car is junk and you know it's junk. So just give it up and get a brand new one– or better yet take one of mine."

"Don't talk about her like that, she'll hear you. That's why she doesn't like you." Kaiba rolled his eyes vigorously while Mokuba pouted. "Besides, that car is a chick magnet on wheels. You would think that with the billions of yen at your disposal you could hire a decent mechanic." There was a swirl of noise again.

Kaiba reached into the car for his briefcase. "I did. Twice. With the best that money could buy. There's no getting through to you, is there? The point is, because of this car I can't meet up with you which means I took the day off for nothing."

"Awww, but I really wanted to see you, Seto. It's been a while, I miss my big bro and all." Mokuba said with a sigh. "So how's my baby?"

"Which one? Saori, Madison or Kumiko?" Kaiba leaned against the car and pulled out the morning paper. He immediately went to the business section.

"The car, smartass." Mokuba instructed Roland to call for more security.

"I don't know. Naturally the hood is hot and there's smoke coming out of it. I think that's a bad thing. I pulled into the first mechanic shop I saw." Kaiba looked up at the sign. 'Joe the Mechanic' it read. "It doesn't seem like Joe the mechanic is in and you know I'm very tempted to just leave it here. Besides I already called the limo to pick you up, it should be there soon."

"You did what? Dude, it's about getting laid while NOT looking like a snob." Mokuba raised a hand to his other ear. The fangirls were responding very loudly to what he had just said.

"Classy, you are." Kaiba retorted.

"Hey. Classy's your deal, not mine." Mokuba took off his sunglasses and exited the airport not really mindful of the swarm of people following him as he looked for the limo. "I abandoned classy a long time ago when I hit puberty and stopped following your coattails all the time. Besides I think I'm entitled, considering the women you date."

"Hey those were the good old days and what exactly is wrong with the women I date?" Kaiba turned to world news. News on what happened on Mokuba's tour was front page.

"I mean don't get me wrong, Seto. You have dated some fine looking babes and I totally dig the office chick look but they're all ice cold bitches who usually end up hating my guts. Kind of counterproductive on the whole 'happy family' front. I mean who is it you're dating now? Saeko, right? The girl's downright mechanical and she only smiles when you're around."

"What can I say? I guess I just have that effect on people," Mokuba held back a snort. "I just happen to like intelligent women. They know if they have a problem with you and that's when they have to go," he said absentmindedly as he turned to the last page. "You know it too." Kaiba had finished reading the paper. Kaiba Corp's stock increased 3% this week and Mokuba finished his world tour but that much he already knew. "Besides, it's not like you have any right to talk about my girlfriends. I have one, you have three, at the same time I might add. And two of them are sloppy as hell."

"Whatever man," Mokuba raised an eyebrow slightly intrigued to know which one of his girlfriends avoided Kaiba's ridicule but not intrigued enough to ask him about it. "Just try not to date chicks that are as uptight as you are and you'll be fine. Live a little, it's healthy. You're 22 not 50 so act like my big bro and not my grandfather." There was a honk. Mokuba grabbed the hand of the best looking fan he could find and pulled her to him. "I think I see the limo. I'll call you back."

Mokuba closed the flip and looked at the girl who was gushing at the fact that he was holding her hand. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Wanna ride in my limo?" The girl nodded graciously as Mokuba opened the door for her and ushered her in. He blew his fans a kiss before coming inside. He looked at the girl, who looked positively ecstatic to be sitting in a limo next to her favorite singer of all time. While the girl could have died from the sexy look Mokuba was giving her, he was mentally preparing himself for an intense makeout session, among other things he intended to have with her. "The name's Kaiba, but you can call me Mokuba." He put a hand on her lap and brought his lips to her ear. "So, what's your name?" Just another day in the life of Mokuba Kaiba.

Kaiba was at a loss of what to do. He could instruct the limo to pick him up but he was sure that Mokuba would be up to something pretty disgusting and he didn't want a front row seat. He could always ask another limo to pick him up or a chauffeur to bring another car but he didn't really like riding with anyone other than the regular chauffeur or Roland and both of them were at Mokuba's beck and call at the moment. "This is ridiculous," he mumbled to himself and decided to look around for a bit. The fastest way to get anywhere would be to just get the car fixed. Again. "Hello?" he called out to no one in particular, stepping into the somewhat dingy garage.

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><p>When Joseph Wheeler woke up that morning, he had no way of knowing that it was the day he would finally see Seto Kaiba again. Not that he wanted such a reunion with the biggest jerk he had ever met in his life, but it had been four years since he had seen him last and they left with the same harsh words they always had for each other. They were fighting over something trivial when Joey told Kaiba he was a pompous rich asshole and Kaiba responded with his timeless question of 'Is animal control aware that you escaped from the pound?' For some reason that morning he was feeling nostalgic of those times.<p>

Of course he hadn't seen his friends in a while either. Not since graduation at least. Yugi traveled with his grandfather to Egypt for some archeological dig. Tea entered a performing arts school in New York halfway across the world from Domino, Japan. Even Tristan, who Joey had believed would always be around, managed to get into some college pursuing god-knows-what. And Joey? It was just him. He and his father lived on top of Joey's mechanic shop that Joey opened a few months after graduation. There wasn't much the world had to offer Joey. He wasn't smart or motivated and the only thing he knew how to do is fix cars. That being what his father did before he became an alcoholic. His dad taught him all the tricks to cars when he was a kid and thanks to that Joey had managed to make some sort of living.

It was kind of a lonely prospect. Once in a while, he would meet some girl and spend the night with her. He tried getting into a few relationships but they never really worked out after a couple weeks of seeing the kind of life Joey had. So Joey no longer had girlfriends. He became a fan of the occasional one night stand, a far cry from the moralistic charmer he was in high school. When he was first starting out and he had blown all his savings in buying the shop, money was so scarce he even used to escort. Of course this was way before he had tried to get into any kind of serious relationship. Joey praised himself for having not gone THAT far off the reservation.

Sometimes, women paid just to have his company, something that Joey didn't mind doing at all. They were usually older, with more life experience, lonely just like him. Often they would get drunk and fall asleep against his chest, telling stories of their past failings in life and love. However, most of the time he was paid for meaningless sex, nights of romance with women that he felt absolutely nothing for. He didn't think anything of it at the time but if you asked him how he felt about it now, he would tell you that he felt cheapened and disgusted by it. Looking back, it wasn't exactly something he could be proud of. In those days, his indifference is probably saved him from losing his mind. The fact that he didn't care about his image or his welfare helped Joey do what he had to do so he and his father could eat and so that the bills were paid. That's all he needed to justify himself. After 2 years he had enough clientele at the shop to sustain himself. He also found himself two other jobs: He worked at a construction yard on a come and go basis when he had time and needed the extra money. A friend of his also allowed him to work in his restaurant one or two days a week.

Still mornings like this when he woke up and there was no one beside him, when his dad was passed out drunk in the other room and not trying to beat him up, he really missed the simpler days of high school where he didn't have to make so many decisions or think about so many things. A place where he could just hang out with his friends, play cards, and be a kid a little while longer. Even if it was that rich jackass snob, Seto Kaiba, he missed when the worst that could happen is losing to him at duel monsters and hearing his jeering taunts.

In fact somewhere deep down, he dare say that he missed him. Well, miss wasn't the word and him definitely not. Definitely didn't miss being pissed off at him or seeing his looks of superiority and arrogance. Maybe his aura? There was something about him that always made Joey feel like they had something in common. All the money, power, and fame in the world couldn't beat the scent of loneliness. Joey saw that in him, maybe that's why they could never stop bothering each other. The rare moments they weren't fighting, Joey saw something in his eyes that made him think 'we could have been great friends.'

_Joey loosened his uniform before entering the school building. He had heard the bell ring 10 minutes prior so he already knew he was late. It's not like he really gave a damn. Being on time was not going to change the fact that his grades suck and were it not for his friends he'd probably give up school entirely._

_Besides, he had a great reason for not being on time. However, he knew he would never say it. Not that he could. How cool does 'I was getting the tar kicked out of me by my drunken dad' sound? Or rather 'My dad and I were beating each other up so we lost track of time.' Joey whistled noisily down the halls, shoelaces untied, collar open with his book bag slung lazily over his shoulder. 'Better go look at the new shiner and make sure it's not too bad,' Joey thought as he headed for the second floor bathroom._

_Entering the bathroom, he praised the god he barely believed in that it was empty. Joey stood in front of the mirror and noticed that there was a fresh new bloody cut on his cheek, 'eh, doesn't really hurt' and moved his collar with a small yelp, revealing a large bruise right above the left breastbone, 'holy fuck, yeah that hurts, definitely going to leave a mark…' First things first, he washed the blood off his lips and face._

"_Roland, I don't care what you have to do or say. Fix it by the time I get back or I'll fix it myself and I'm sure you don't want that." Kaiba entered the bathroom promptly hanging up on his diligent servant to find Joey staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "This is a public bathroom. What's the look for?"_

"_Uuuh nothing, nothing." Joey turned away quickly and smirked. "I just thought that school bathrooms were beneath you. You never seemed like the type to pee with the rest of us."_

"_Haha, very funny mutt. They're not beneath me when I'm only using them to talk on the phone or wash my hands." Kaiba went to the sink, looked at Joey in the mirror from the corner of his eye and stopped. "Wheeler, what happened to you? You look terrible. I mean worse than usual." _

"_Gee, thanks."Joey replied in false appreciation._

"_And you're bleeding."_

"_Oh, don't be a girl about it, Kaiba. I just got jumped that's all. You should see the other guys, they look worse…" Joey laughed reaching for a paper towel._

_Kaiba grabbed Joey's arm and whirled him around to face him. He examined Joey's face very closely. Joey's hair was slightly wet and matted around his moist visage. There were other small bruises starting to form. "Yeah you would be the one to get into a fight this early in the morning. What? Nine o' clock is the canine cocktail hour?"_

"_Don't you ever tire of being a jerk or is it part of your morning mojo?" Joey scoffed rolling his eyes._

"_Don't move." Kaiba pulled out his handkerchief and started wiping down Joey's face. He winced under Kaiba's touch causing Kaiba to be gentler than usual._

_Joey opened one brown eye. Kaiba's face had an air of concern? He laughed inwardly. 'Yeah right. To what have I earned the concern of the great Seto Kaiba' he thought with peculiar sarcasm. "Kaiba, I can do it myself. I get into fights all the time, what makes you an expert?" He tried to take control of the handkerchief himself putting his hand on top of Kaiba's._

_Kaiba pressed on Joey's cut particularly hard causing him to yelp for the second time that morning. "I'm an expert because I said so. Is there some code of conduct you look for in people who try to help you out?" Kaiba reached into his pocket. "Applying pressure will stop the bleeding and you can use this before it leaves a mark."_

_Joey felt him place something in his hand. "Ointment? Why are you carrying this around?" Joey asked him raising a brow._

"_Believe it or not I'm pretty used to taking care of the beaten and banged up. Mokuba comes home like that every time he gets into a fight at school. He picks a fight with anyone who insults me even though I tell him not to."_

"_Kid loves you a lot, obviously. If it were me I'd do the same."_

_Kaiba shrugged. "Knowing __**you'd**__ do the same thing doesn't make me feel any better about it. I don't need a 12 year old fighting my battles just because he loves me. Of course it doesn't happen that often cause then I've got to go there and make the crazy kids wish they had never been born," Joey crinkled his nose. He didn't even want to IMAGINE being on the receiving end of Kaiba's revenge tactics at such a young age. Kaiba was interrupted by a call on his phone. It was from Roland. "Anyway, keep that. It should help with the bruises, especially the one on your chest." Kaiba tried to keep his poker face intact but as he was turning around for the door, Joey could swear he saw a smile that Kaiba tried to hide._

"Why the hell am I thinking of Kaiba this early in the morning? Him of all people?" Joey asked himself sitting up and crawling out of bed.

"And the Kaiba brothers are taking the world by storm as they once again make headlines." Joey's ears perked up to a newscast that was playing on the TV. There were separate pictures of both boys side by side, Mokuba smiling like an idiot, and Kaiba giving what Joey considered at this point to be a friendly scowl. "The younger of the Kaiba boys, after four consecutive number one singles, released his debut album "The Renaissance" about 3 months ago. From there he started his world tour. We caught up with the 18 year old heartthrob to ask him a few questions."

They switched to a scene of Mokuba singing on stage in front of a sold out arena somewhere in Paris, France. _Whoa Mokuba, that's a shit ton of people, bet you're just loving all the attention,_ Joey thought. They now turned to a scene of Mokuba acting like a lunatic backstage. He lazily snaked an arm around his guitarist's neck and held up the piece sign to the camera. "Bonjour, oui oui, and all that good stuff." He said running a hand through his shoulder length shaggy black hair. "Paris has been very kind to us!"

"You're drunk Mokuba," the guitarist stifled his laughter, leading his precious guitar away from the intoxicated band leader.

"But it's legal here so it's all good…" Mokuba responded. Mokuba then accosted the cameraman causing the frame to shake. "You see that? I'm larger than life, I rock worlds…" At this point even the cameraman had trouble containing his composure as Mokuba's speech of arrogance continued "I kick down walls, knock down doors, and believe me nothing's impossible to Mokuba Kaiba!"

"The only things you're knocking down are the drinks," Yuuki said tuning his guitar in the background.

"No, shaddup I'm awesome and you know it. I will come back to Paris every year of my awesomeness." With that he kissed the shaven part of Yuuki head. "Are you coming back with me, Yuuki?" he slurred looking at the guitarist with attentive drunkenness. "Or am I gonna be awesome by myself?" Yuuki looked at him for a second before the two men burst into hysterical laughter.

It then switched to a very personal interview between him and a beautiful young brunette woman who appeared to be the same anchor giving the news coverage. Apparently she and Mokuba had just seen the Paris footage and he had his hand over his eyes, blushing in embarrassment. "Well, you certainly are quite entertaining," the interviewer started. "What do you make of that?"

Mokuba laughed and then shrugged."Yeah, I guess I was born to entertain. That was actually part of the behind the scenes bonus footage off the concert DVD that's coming out really soon. We had just had this amazing live; the people of Paris were really cool and very into it which kind of surprised me seeing as how we're a Japanese band, singing mostly Japanese music. So to celebrate we kind of went out and partied a little bit, but I always party harder than the rest so…" Mokuba trailed off.

Joey continued to watch the coverage barely believing that Mokuba, younger brother of the most uptight man under god's hot sun, somehow grew up to be so wild.

"Well I'm sure that you're aware that your debut album, "The Renaissance," is topping the charts. I guess what people are curious to know is what does it all mean?"

"Between you and me, it means whatever you want it to mean." Mokuba kissed the woman's hand before continuing as she had pretty much fallen for his charms. "No, I'm just kidding. Believe it or not Japanese people do know about the renaissance. It's the French word for rebirth, which is obviously why our world tour befittingly began in Paris. My album doesn't refer to the European revolution but to the rebirth of music itself. I guess what I'm trying to say is, now that I'm around, music will never be the same again."

The woman seemed to be enthralled with every word that came out of Mokuba's mouth. "Now we all know you have an incredibly famous older brother," the woman began.

"That I do. Seto's been famous for most of my life."

"How does he feel about your rock stardom, I can't imagine he accepted it right away?"

"Well he wasn't thrilled about it, but he wants me to be happy. He's not the grouch that he portrays himself as. He's actually the coolest older brother anyone could ever ask for. I grew up believing that and I still do. And we've had our fights about it but I usually win. He basically raised me and spoiled me to the point of no return so he's gotta deal with the fruits of his labor. Which would be the me you see right before your eyes," Mokuba flashed her a smile.

"But I'm sure he wanted you to take over the family business."

"Yeah. I always thought that was what I was gonna do, but I feel like I would've just been following in his shadow my whole life. Kaiba Corp is Seto's legacy not mine. I'm pretty much a free spirit. I mean when I can drive him crazy with clips like the one you just saw, just imagining the look on his face, there's nothing like it. Clearly, I was born to do this. Besides, he's going to be running Kaiba Corp for a very long time, I mean I won't have to take over until I'm 70 with one foot in the grave. By then he and I will have grandkids and crazy tykes running around that corporate ladder, so he's warmed up to my life choices."

"And is there any particular reason why you've chosen this kind of life?"

All joking aside, the interview was starting to take a very serious turn. "Seto and I have talked about it and there's one thing that drives me to do this more than anything else. It's not the money or the fame, I grew up with that. You know, my brother's always believed in me. His faith in me has never wavered before." Mokuba said quietly but firmly. "But when I told him my main reason for doing this, he said to me 'Mokuba, that's impossible. You can't do that. It's just impossible.'"

The interviewer jotted down some notes very quickly. "Impossible? Why does he think that?"

"Don't get me wrong, I think my brother believes in me more than anyone else. But he's a very logical man, perhaps even to a fault. Yes he's gifted and ambitious but he always measures a situation between reasonable and unreasonable, rational and irrational, possible and impossible. Every fight we've ever had has probably started with that word. It irritates me a little bit, because what he doesn't realize is that I wipe a monkey's ass with the word impossible." Mokuba crossed his arms defiantly. "Because I'm a guy that makes the impossible possible, there is pretty much nothing that's impossible to me. After all, my brother and I have gone through a lot. We've been to hell and back and we're still standing. Many people told us it would be impossible to get to where we are but we've proven wrong in every single way. That's why I've grown up with the philosophy that the word impossible simply doesn't apply to us."

The woman seemed to be in awe of Mokuba's view of the world. "Wow, that's a fascinating way of looking at things. What drives like this? What could be so important that it seems like nothing else matters?"

"This career of mine is very significant to me because I need to find someone. Sometimes she's all I think about. I lost her, but I know she's still out there, waiting for me. This could be the only way to let her know that I'm still here, waiting for her. Seto doesn't think I'll ever be able to find her but if she listens to my music, I can tell her what's in my heart." Although Mokuba was talking about such a sad separation he didn't seem sad at all. As he thought of her, he could help but smile with excitement of their eventual reunion. "She'll know that this heart of mine still beats strongly with the hope of seeing her again. Nothing can deter me, because I'll never give up until we meet again. I'll write down how I feel and through singing I'll express those feelings. If people dig it, they dig it. If they don't, who the hell cares they think?"

The channel 11 brunette news anchor was back on the screen. "People can catch the rest of his full exposé tonight at 8pm. It was a very interesting interview to say the least. He's a captivating and charming person with so much talent. Although he would not say who the lucky lady is, he was a lot more open than any of us expected him to be. He talks about parts of his childhood, growing up in the public view, how he fell in love with music and the formation of his band, Thermo. His brother has never spoke of anything that personal, and speaking of which Seto, the older of the Kaiba brothers, has sealed the deal with the German video game delegate of Leicaleitz enterprises, Abigail Spitzweig. It's becoming known as the collaboration of the decade, causing the Kaiba Corporation stock to rise 3% in just 24 hours and that's only just the beginning."

They switched to a press conference that took place the day before. Cameras were flashing every other second, and many reporters wanted to ask them the type of questions that was beyond the scope of Joey's understanding. "I think Japan has been trying to get their products into Germany for a while now but weren't sure how to do it," a lady with a thick german accent, that Joey could only assume was Abigail began. "Mr. Seto Kaiba was the first person to impress me with his plans for the future, collaborating would be beneficial for both of our companies and I feel very safe with him at the helms. He is a very capable young man." The young petite woman with blond hair, blue eyes, and high cheek bones shot Kaiba a friendly wink.

"Mr. Kaiba," one of the journalists had been given permission to speak. "We all know that companies all over this country have been trying to work with Miss Spitzweig for a long time. How did you convince her?"

Kaiba needed to be applauded this time. Although Joey would never understand the depth of this achievement, Kaiba had done something nearly impossible. He has managed to get Japanese products into xenophobic Germany in the masses. The prime minister of Japan had actually even given Kaiba a call to thank him. It's about more than just Kaiba products bringing in national profits, this opens the door to better political trade agreements with them and gives Japan an avenue to access and blend some of the top of the line technology Germany had been producing. A 3% stock increase in the span of 24 hours is record breaking and once everything becomes finalized this could garner astronomical profits over the next few years.

"Miss Spitzweig is a very simple woman as the best always are. I showed her a profitable arrangement and she gladly accepted." Kaiba smirked and raised his folded hands to his face. "Kaiba Corp will continue to climb to new heights every day. I will not slow down for anybody. Anyone who wants to get to the top will either have to join me or get through me. Miss Spitzweig made the smarter choice. I believe we can work again in the future."

Joey turned the TV off in disgust. "Well that explains why I was thinking of him, I must have heard news about him in my sleep. He still has that superiority complex I see." Joey got up and got undressed. Bathroom time included the works, showering, brushing teeth, and the routine of trying but failing to comb his hair which had grown just a little bit longer than the way he had it in high school. Things were so much easier when Tea was around to cut his hair. He was running the towel through his hair when he stepped out and saw his father passed out on the floor. He heaved a sigh and went back to his room to get dressed.

Joey listened to the messages on his work phone as he put on a white shirt and some jeans. "Hey Joe, it's me Megumi Ogawa. I'm just calling to remind you that I'm going to pick up my car today so I hope you've finished it, I've wired four grand in American dollars to your account. Please get it done." Beep.

"Hi Joe, it's Leila, I just wanna thank you for the work you've done on my car, it works great. Maybe I could treat you for a drink sometime, just let me know when you're free. I'll be looking forward to it." Beep.

"Joey, this is Takeshi, I'm dropping off my car today, there's something wrong with my breaks, fix it, I will pay whatever, thanks man." Beep. That was the last of his messages hearing the final beep before he tied the shoelaces to his worn out sneakers and put on his blue faded denim jacket.

His father's lifeless carcass was still there to greet him when he got to the end of the bedroom hall. "Come on, old man. It's 10 in the morning and I got a lot to do today." He hoisted his dad's arm to the other side of his neck and lifted the elder man from the floor. He sat him at the kitchen table and slapped him gently trying to wake him. He put yesterday's takeout in the microwave.

"It's my fault," James Wheeler babbled in his sleep, slowly stirring. "It's all my fault." Tears brimmed his closed eyelids.

"No it's not, it's mine. Wake up if you wanna put the blame on me. Sorry to say, I don't have the time to kick your ass this morning. Come on, I've got at least two cars to work on." Joey tapped his father again and saw his eyes slowly open. "I'm going to work, old man. Try to eat something. I left it in the microwave." Joey held his belligerent face to examine the extent of how conscious he was. _Eh, he'll live. At least till I come back I hope._ "Hey, look at me, look at me old man, if you're not too plastered when I get back we can go another round. So sit, eat, sober up, and try not to kill yourself or anyone else while I'm gone."

James somewhat startled pushed his son to the floor. "Get off of me! What do you think you're doing?" He stood up only to sit right back down after feeling the effects of his crippling headache.

"Yeah, good talk." Joey added with a hint of sarcasm. He got up, took one last look at his father who was eyeing the now empty liquor cabinet before closing the front door behind him.

Miss Ogawa came to pick up her car around one o' clock. She was a younger woman, in her early 20s looking like a spinster of sorts with her dark hair locked a tight bun and the crispness of her work dress suit all packed neatly into a nervous lady. She checked her watch and reminded Joey that her break was over in an hour and that she wanted to get there early. Joey was underneath the car putting in the final touches. He had been working on the car for a number of weeks and it was finally in mint condition.

He swore inwardly at the fact that Megumi didn't seem to appreciate that he basically had to rebuild the car from scratch as it had been in a terrible wreck and on top of that he had even given her a decent discount at Duke Devlin's request. Apparently she worked at the Dungeon Dice Enterprises that Duke was CEO of. The accident occurred on her second day when the moron had slammed into her passing car as he was trying to swerve out of his CEO parking spot as if he were the big man on campus. How she still continues to work for the green eyed bastard is to the complete amazement of everyone who's heard the story. No doubt that they were clearly romantically involved although Joey never thought that the endearing, sincere, hardworking, and naïve office girl was Duke's type. Or maybe he started dated her to distract her from the fact that he nearly killed her.

"Okay, I'm done." Joey said from underneath the car. He rolled out and stood up, taking off his work gloves and wiping his sweaty face with a handkerchief labeled "SK" on the bottom right. He handed her the keys and instructed her on all the additions he had made to the car. She paid very close attention and nodded earnestly to everything he said.

"Well, thank you very much! It looks like nothing ever happened!" she pushed up her glasses and her blue eyes came to life as she shook Joey's hand fervently in newfound appreciation of which Joey had mistakenly thought she didn't possess.

_You know, she'd be kind of cute if she wasn't such a prude. And she seems a bit stupid but she grows on you._ Joey smiled and pulled his hand away forcefully after a minute. _What a freak. _"Yeah well take care of it this time. And say hi for Duke for me."

Her face grimaced instantly. "S-s-say hi? What makes you th-think I talk to that jerk?"

"That jerk happens to be YOUR boss and MY friend," Joey reminded her. When her face fell even further he laughed and put his hands in the air. "But he's still a jerk all the same. The stories I could tell you about that guy are endless."

"I think he's playing games with me. I mean he tries to kill me, only to ask me out the day I get out of the hospital." She bit her lip. "I rejected him of course. Twice already. I didn't even accept his help in paying for the car. I mean look at me, do I really seem like his type? He probably wants to just make fun of me."

"So why are you still working there?" Joey asked.

"Climbing the corporate ladder this young is not easy. Dungeon Dice Enterprises is the closest I've ever been and I don't want to give that up," she said, fixing a strand of her hair. "Who knows, someday I might have his job, or better yet, maybe I can get into the Kaiba Corporation! It's always been a dream of mine."

Joey snorted at the mention of 'Kaiba.' "Yeah well good luck with that." Joey's skepticism was apparent. There's no way someone as arrogant as Kaiba would ever approve of hiring someone as ditzy as Megumi. _Again with Kaiba? Is it an omen? Why am I thinking about him?_ "About Duke, I happen to think he's serious about you. I'm not sure if he wants to date you, but even jerks like him have a heart. He probably just wants to make it up to you for almost killing you and wrecking your car. You should give him a chance. You may learn something about him that you didn't know before. How's that for insider information?"

Megumi blushed furiously and bowed before getting in her car. As she was exiting, Takeshi pulled up with his car driving in painfully slow. It came rolling to a stop and Takeshi came running out of the car frantic.

"Something is wrong with my brakes," he said in a panicking manner.

Joey raised a brow. "I'll say. What the hell was with that entrance about? You think you're the only one on the road?" Joey stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles preparing for the new work that just came in.

"Just check it, please! I was on the highway and I couldn't stop, I almost got into an accident! I could have died!" Takeshi was legitimately freaked out. He shook his head and shoulders while checking his phone.

"Calm down, buddy. I'm sure you've been as reckless with the Integra as you've always been." Joey quickly put his gloves back on and after raising the car he went under. He came back after 15 minutes looking incredulous. "Uuuum Takeshi? What is this? I don't want to get involved but is someone trying to kill you?"

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "What are you talking about? Did you find something?"

"The brake lines are broken and it doesn't look like wear and tear. These lines are made out of metal, and were cut. With something sharp…" Joey looked at him and then looked back at the car half scared out of his mind.

Takeshi was very confused however his look of confusion slowly changed into some kind of recognition of what was going on. He then laughed running a hand through his jet black hair. "Why would someone want to kill me? What did I do to anyone? Maybe my wife knows something about this." He opened his phone and started dialing.

"Why would she know?" Joey rolled his eyes at him. _That's Takeshi, always joking around even in a serious situation._ "Maybe there's someone after your money. Is there anyone who would want you dead? I can't believe I even have to ask you that. Takeshi, you should call the police. I've never done anything like this before. I mean I can fix the brake lines, sure, but won't that get rid of any evidence of foul play?" Joey was at a loss of what to do.

"No!" he nearly screamed, startling Joey. "Don't worry." he said regressing a bit. "It's fine, nothing is going to happen to me, just fix the car. The money you need is in the trunk, take as much as you want and just fix it."

Takeshi Miura was a young 28 year old merchant that Joey had met by chance a little over three years ago. He sells products to numerous companies of all kinds. Joey had saved the man from muggers and since then he had helped Joey get out of some tight jams. He found the shop Joey bought and gave Joey the rest of the money to buy it which Joey begrudgingly accepted. When Takeshi found out the Joey was having a hard time building clientele he told all his rich friends about 'Joe the mechanic' and directed them to the shop. It took some convincing as rich people usually just buy a new car and don't bother to get it fixed. He also owned the restaurant that Joey worked at and even gave him the job. Takeshi had been one of Joey's only friends since high school.

"That's not necessary. It's only it's a 50000 yen job. I'm sure that you carry that around in your wallet. Besides I'm not charging you for it." Joey looked at him curiously as he started walking out.

Takeshi laughed. "Hahahaha, you know me too well for too long. How long have we been friends? Few years?" He looked back at him for a moment. "Fix that car. Everything about that car. And protect that car till I come back. Then take however much you want from the trunk. When the time comes you'll know what to do. I'm sure of it. You'll know what to do." He gave Joey a wink and left the garage.

Joey was a bit stunned for a while, having an apparent delayed reaction to the serious tone Takeshi had taken. "Huh? What the fuck are you talking about? You're scaring me." Joey noticed that he was no longer there and scratched his head out of frustration. "Damn it! What should I do? He's not taking this seriously enough."

Joey stood up from where he had been sitting on the floor in back of the silver Acura Integra. He walked to the table and grabbed his handkerchief. This was the handkerchief he had every day for the last 6 years. He used it for various things and cleaned it when he had the chance. Mostly, he used it to clean himself up after fixing cars but once in a while when he was hurt after fighting with his father or anyone else the handkerchief was always used as a band-aid of sorts. It's not like it was important to him, it's just that he never noticed that he had held onto it all this time. He hadn't even remembered where it came from, that is until today. Joey took a good look at the piece of cloth he was holding and his eyes widened in realization. 'SK' the corner read. This was Kaiba's, from a long time ago. Joey had no idea why he had kept it.

"_Don't move." Kaiba pulled out his handkerchief and started wiping down Joey's face. He winced under Kaiba's touch causing Kaiba to be gentler than usual._

_Kaiba pressed on Joey's cut particularly hard causing him to yelp for the second time that morning. "I'm an expert because I said so. Is there some code of conduct you look for in people who try to help you out?" Kaiba reached into his pocket. "Applying pressure will stop the bleeding and you can use this before it leaves a mark."_

"_Anyway, keep that. It should help with the bruises, especially the one of your chest." Kaiba tried to keep his poker face intact but as he was turning around for the door, Joey could swear he saw a smile that Kaiba tried to hide._

"That asshole is nice to me ONE TIME on a whim and I keep his little gift? What the hell is wrong with me?" He threw piece of cloth back on the table and turned back to the Integra. "I'm not sure about this but you know I can do right now?" He went to the toolbox and grabbed a wrench checking the clock on the wall. 2:30. "What I can do? I can fix this car. Besides, I never know when Takeshi will be back for it." He rolled under the car and went to work.

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><p>"Sorry Joey," Takeshi said to no one in particular. "It's because I trust you, completely and implicitly. I trust you with my life. Things are about to get real nasty. I know you'll protect that car with everything you have, just in case I don't make it back." He lifted his foot off the shop wall stepping onto the sidewalk. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed the woman he had wanted to call before. "Hello honey. You're surprised to hear from me, aren't you?" The 28 year old sighed and put a hand in his pocket, brown eyes twinkling in amusement and he cracked a grin. "I found the little gift you left in my favorite car, kind of goes against our marriage vows don't you think?" The woman on the other line responded rebukingly and Takeshi tsked at her. "What a shame. I survived, and you're gonna wish I hadn't. Becoming my wife should have taught you, if you're gonna do something, do it right. Leave no mistakes or they will haunt you. Although I do have something that might interest you, we need to meet up. Where are you?"<p>

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><p>Joey replaced the brake lines in no time at all but there were a few other things wrong with the car. Someone had rigged a lot more in the car than just faulty brake lines. Someone had placed salt in the engine and sugar in the gas tank. <em>If this is a prank, it's a bad one. If it's not, then what a roundabout way to try to kill someone…<em> Joey thought. A plethora of things could have occurred, the worst being that the car could have exploded with Takeshi inside of it. Both had to be replaced immediately. Joey was baffled as to how the car made here in the first place. He began to feel increasingly uneasy about the whole affair. Was it wrong of him to worry about Takeshi when he found all these booby traps in his car? Just who was he anyway? Wasn't he just a simple merchant? Although it is very possible that someone just wants him out of the way to get to his money but why would they go to this extent to kill him when there simpler ways? He was a good guy. He helped Joey out with a lot of things. Joey was even starting to look up to him as an older brother of sorts and he reminded him so much of Tristan. Joey's concern increased tenfold when he called him only to receive the answering machine. "He better be okay or I will fucking kill him."

He would have to order a new gas tank but luckily had had enough to parts to comprise a new engine to replace the faulty one. This took a considerable amount of time and something that would not be able to be fixed in one day but he had fixed 80% of the new engine by the time he took a break. The rest of the engine required tiny intricate additions which required a decent oiling first. He went all the way to the back to get the oil which he slightly misplaced much to his embarrassment. What kind of mechanic loses his reserve of oil? He did find it eventually but he stopped all of a sudden. Was someone calling for him? He could have sworn-

"Hello?" Kaiba stepped into the garage and looked around. "Joe the mechanic? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." A figure from the back, obviously the source of the voice, responded.

"I'm having car trouble it's kind of an emergency. Can you take a look at it? I will pay you whatever you want."

"What is with people and the 'I'll pay you whatever you want' line? You're rich, aren't you? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you shouldn't save your money." Joey scoffed slightly irritated as he stepped into the light and made his way back to Takeshi's car. _Wait a minute. That voice…_ He stopped dead his tracks and nearly dropped the bottle of motor oil at the unbelievable sight of Seto Kaiba in his dingy garage. "Kaiba?" Joey asked incredulously.

"Joey? Joey Wheeler?" Kaiba asked with equal surprise. "I don't believe it. YOU'RE Joe the mechanic?" Kaiba didn't know whether to be amused or disgusted.

Joey sighed and opened the hood to the Acura, his eyes narrowing into thin slits. His patience for life's mysteries was wearing him thin. "Today clearly isn't my day, and the hits just keep on coming," Joey's tone became weary and he was moderately uncaring of Kaiba's presence. "So, what the hell are you doing here?" he inquired disinterestedly.

Kaiba watched Joey apply the motor oil to the engine of some expensive looking car and rolled his eyes. "So this is what you did after high school? You didn't get into a school like the rest of the geek brigade?"

Joey slammed the hood back down as he rolled his eyes. "Come now, Kaiba. We both know I'm not smart enough for that. I've been fixing cars all my life. This is the only thing I know how to do." Joey pulled out the stick next to the engine to check the quality of the oil. "Not everyone has billions in their back pocket like you. People like me can't just do anything. I'm sure you didn't track me down to ridicule my life choices, what the hell does the great Seto Kaiba want from me? And I'm warning you, today has been kind of trippy and I'm slightly annoyed so I might just be as eager to help you as I was 4 years ago, which wasn't very eager at all."

"You think I tracked you down? I had no idea you were here. In fact, I'm here on a fluke. My car broke down." Kaiba looked around at the repulsive scenery. "I would never come here otherwise. Where are we anyways?"

Joey would have to get under the car to figure out how he would remove the gas tank and whatever other problems there might be. This would require him pushing the car into the inner garage and mechanically lifting it using something stronger than what he had used to lift the car when he had replaced the break lines. But he was tired and spent from the day's events which included a good friend of his being the target of danger and this unexpected meeting he was currently dealing with. Joey had suddenly lost his energy and motivation. He took off his gloves and wiped sweat from his forehead using the back of his hand before dividing his attention towards Kaiba.

"Congratulations Kaiba, you actually made it out of your comfy mansion to visit us little people. This is groundbreaking. Unfortunately, you're still in Domino City. You've just never been here, to the Domino slums. Or at least the entrance to the slums. Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, I've seen places far worse than here. It took me all my life just to get to the entrance, and where I come from that's a dream." He opened the front door and inspected the interior, there were still a few adjustments that could be made but he'd save them for another day, maybe tomorrow after his lifted the car. "Although, I have fulfilled too many dreams as of late," he closed the door, grabbing his handkerchief and wiping his hands.

"Yeah?" Kaiba crossed his arms. "And just what's that supposed to mean?"

"Many people around here dream of seeing your signature misshapen trench coat and your trademark look of condescendence. I know it all too well and seen it all too many times. Lucky me." Joey remarked placing the piece of cloth on the table once again before remembering who it originally belonged to. Momentarily nervous and caught off guard, he then took the handkerchief to the back where it could be concealed in the clutter.

Kaiba was starting to get angry. Were things always this bad between them? He had not seen the dog in four years and the first thing Joey does is bite his head off for simply being there? Who does he think he is? "Look Wheeler, I've had just about enough of your mouth." He grabbed Joey's arm roughly. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Or not." Joey ripped his arm away and scoffed. "You haven't changed, have you? You think that just because you are Seto Kaiba means that everybody's just gotta do what you say? Well you know what? You can go screw yourself." Joey paused. In that moment, he heard a harp playing. Its symphony started in his head and then traveled through his body, opening the doors of his heart. A choir rejoiced, a bright light shown behind Kaiba, and a great wind blew Joey away as the zephyr ran through Joey's blond locks.

Of course none of the above had really taken place; it's just that Joey had taken notice of the car directly behind Kaiba. Kaiba was watching Joey warily. Wariness turned to concern when it looked like Joey was about to drool. "Hey, are you okay?" He snapped his fingers in front of Joey's face but to no avail for Joey's eyes had already transformed into stars and he could no longer see anything but that car. He was transfixed on it unaware of his apparent stupor. Exasperated, Kaiba shook the young man until he somewhat returned to some semblance of reality.

"This is your car? THIS IS YOUR CAR?!" Joey asked frantically. Kaiba nodded slowly. "It's a Mustang– an ACTUAL Mustang. They stopped making this type in the late 70s, how in the world did you get your hands on one of these?" Joey put his hand up to stop him from responding. "Wait don't answer that, I guess money is really good for something after all. This is one of the first models it's totally vintage." Joey opened the door and smelled the interior leather seats. "This is definitely the '67 model. Why would someone as uptight like you be driving something as awesome as this?"

"The truth is told I hate the thing. It's not mine, it's Mokuba's." Kaiba crossed his arms. "He adores collecting classic cars like these. I wouldn't even be driving it if Mokuba didn't want me to pick him up from the airport in that. It breaks down all the time, I've been trying to convince him to turn it into scrap metal but I'm starting to think that the car is his lover or something."

"Scrap metal? Never." Joey flashed him a dirty look. "Figures you would say something like that." He finished inspecting the interior of the car. "Well, I will say this," Joey backed up so he could get a better view of the car. "Your brother's got style." He smiled, his mood had picked up considerably.

"I'm so thrilled you think so." Kaiba replied derisively. "So are you going to fix it?"

"Fix it? I'll do better than that, this car won't break down again for a long time." Joey finished his inspection of all the obvious faults it could possibly be. The engine was rusted and the carburetor needed to be replaced completely not to mention that the wheels were completely worn but he hadn't gotten beneath the car yet so he couldn't be totally sure the full extent of the damages.

"There's extensive damage I see already and I haven't even checked the bottom of the car yet. There's no way this will be finished by today much less this week." Joey checked the clock and it was almost seven. "It's almost closing time too."

"Never mind that. How much?" Kaiba inquired impatiently.

"Well it's looking to be a 500,000 yen job but since I hate your guts, you can pay 3 times that much." Joey said proudly.

"Fine." Kaiba shrugged. He walked to the Mustang and opened the trunk pulling out a titanium suitcase. He shoved the suitcase at Joey's chest. "This is 2,000,000. Keep the change, just get it done as soon as possible."

"Whoa whoa, Kaiba I was just kidding. This is too much money. And what is it with you rich folk and keeping money on you? I expected a check, not for you to be carrying this much money in the trunk of your car. I know mechanics want a decent tip but this is ridiculous, it's like a 300% tip…" He tried to give it back but Kaiba wouldn't take it. "Kaiba, I've never seen this much money all I once. I can't accept it."

"Keep it. You haven't checked the bottom right? It could be worse and the estimate can change." Kaiba said satiating Joey's pride a bit. "Besides you can use the money right? After you get everything you need and take care of everything you have to in this place, you can give back the rest if you want." Kaiba pulled out his cell phone ready to call for another chauffeur.

"Wait." Joey smiled. Truth be told Kaiba had just covered months worth of bills. The loan sharks and debt collectors would be satisfied for a while. He was really tight this month and he would have been in some deep financial trouble if Kaiba hadn't come along. He couldn't help but be happy. Even if it was Seto Kaiba, scum of the earth, he had to thank him. After all, he was grateful. "At least let me buy you a drink. You know as thanks?"

"It's not necessary." Kaiba said flatly. Kaiba checked his watch, he figured that it was time to go.

"Or do you not want to be seen with me?" Joey asked quietly. "After all these years, you're still too good to drink with me?"

Kaiba stopped. He went through an array of emotions all of which he didn't really display. He was angry at Joey's insinuation as well as slightly hurt that Joey had such a little opinion of him. However all of those ended with Kaiba smirking in amusement at the challenge of it all. "Fine. Let's have a drink then. But only if I drive."

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><p><strong>19 pages:<strong> So that is the end of chapter 1. A bit long? I had to cover everything, I also edited and revamped it. This is like the third time. Forgive all the spelling mistakes I have very bad eyesight horrendous even, so I usually end up missing all my grammatical errors. Please review, tell me what you think, I love to hear from you guys. I've already started chapter two you guys should DEFINITELY look forward to chapter three. It's going to be a doozy. I will try to update as soon as possible.

—Edit— February 9, 2015

Yep re-writing the story and working on chapter 7 as we speak. May take a couple of weeks seeing as how I just broke my index fingernail but I shall overcome. See you soon.


	2. A Drunken Night and Awakened Feelings

**Attention: I realize you may have read this before but I hadn't touched this story in a year due to being too busy with work and school. Now that I have a decent amount of time of I decided to revise all the chapters and do some updating. It's almost like reading a brand new story. **

Hi guys I'm back. I have midterms this week so I'm writing this chapter in a rush. Hopefully I'll get it out this week. I've been really very excited about writing about happens next cause we're leading up right into that first kiss. Is it in this chapter? I don't know.

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><p><strong>A Drunken Night and Awakened Feelings<strong>

Kaiba was in the driver's seat of Joey's cheap Toyota Camry. He had never driven a car under $100,000 before, that being because most of his cars were foreign and imported. He was quietly observing the inside of the small but cozy car. It was very neat and kept together, carpeted floors and clean black non-leather cushioned seats with purple tinted windows. It was a direct contradiction to Joey's messy personality and given the sorry state of the disarray in his garage the fact that his car was so clean showed that he had an undying respect for cars in general. In the front, dangled around the rear view mirror was a miniature red eyes black dragon figurine showing his playful love for the fabled beast. Kaiba chose to withhold the information that said figurine was a manufactured product of the Kaiba Corporation. On the right bottom corner of the windshield were two pictures, one positioned above the other.

"Quit staring at my wheels, Kaiba," Joey closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back the things he wanted to say at that moment. After all he was the one who gave him three months' rent and an awesome project, the '67 Mustang, to work on. "I know this car isn't up to your standards and you want to try as some sort of I've-never-driven-a-cheap-car experiment, but it's not that fascinating so let's drive."

"On the contrary, it's very fascinating," Kaiba responded obviously completely ignoring what Joey had just said. "Who are they?" Joey noticed that Kaiba's cerulean eyes rested on the bottom of the two pictures, the one underneath the photo of him and his friends laughing like idiots.

"That's…" Joey looked away. "My family…" he started playing with his fingers.

"Family?" Kaiba turned to him. "I wasn't aware you had one. I always thought you were a stray."

Joey resisted the urge to clock him one.

"So this is your mom and dad? Who's the girl?" He eyed the cute little one. She looked like Joey's mom.

"That's my little sister, Serenity." Joey answered putting on a forced smile. "That's when she was seven years old."

"She's pretty cute, unlike you." Kaiba lied, to which Joey crossed his arms with a scoff. He didn't lie about Serenity, the girl was absolutely adorable with a bright smile very similar to Joey's. He lied about Joey but the fact that Kaiba found even a modicum of appeal in Joey was such a minute and unnecessary detail that it would only be shared on a need to know basis.

Joey turned away and recited a small prayer in barely audible tone to which Kaiba stifled a chuckle when he heard it. He prayed for the strength and wisdom to unclench his fists, take a breath, and not fight with Kaiba. It had been four years since the last time Kaiba actually did something nice for him and he wasn't going to let Kaiba's condescending taunts and asshole personality stop him from showing some goddamn gratitude.

So he was a big brother as well? Just another one of the things he never knew they had in common. Mokuba momentarily crossed his thoughts. "I never knew you had a sister. Somehow you seem like the type though." He started the car and leaned back. "So you got a place in mind, or am I choosing?"

"Oh no way are you choosing, I'm treating remember? Ritzy, fancy places are not my style and way above my pay grade." Joey looked at Kaiba and his attire. He was wearing all black with his arms and legs buckled with leather belts all underneath a large light blue long flowing jacket. Now on any other given day, Joey would have wished that his jacket too flowed with the same epicness that Kaiba's did, however loud and popping with a degree of self-fortitude was not his style especially when they were just going to buy drinks at a bar near the entrance to the slums. Kaiba was definitely overdressed for the occasion. "Speaking of which, Kaiba? Your outfit's a little…" he cleared his throat not needing to continue.

"What?" Kaiba gave him the dirtiest look he could muster and resisted the urge to curse him to oblivion. Kaiba's image was somewhat important to him. I mean it wasn't everything but Kaiba never went anywhere without carrying about the three Ps: Proud, Powerful, and Privileged. It was kind of a subconscious effort to forget about what his life was like before all the luxury. There was a part of Kaiba that asked himself why he was even doing this. He had plenty of better things he could be doing than having a drink with Wheeler of all people. It was Wheeler. Joey Wheeler. The same Joey Wheeler that he had latent feelings for back then, feelings he forcefully repressed in the form of picking on him and making his life miserable. The same Joey Wheeler he never got along with in high school is the same Joey Wheeler that was sitting next to him right now offering to buy him a drink. Kaiba removed his light blue trench coat throwing it in the back seat. He next removed all of his buckles and threw them to the floor. Finally, He undid the first three buttons on his black shirt, exposing his collarbone and the top portion of chest. "This good enough? Or do I need to get a whole new wardrobe just to be seen with you?"

Joey laughed nervously under his glare. "Well, I'm good. Drive, drive." Joey gave him all the directions to the place as they hit the road. "We won't go too deep into the slums because it gets pretty dangerous at night."

"I can handle myself, Joey. I don't need you looking out for me."

"Oh but you do." Joey replied. "You don't know this cause you don't come around here often but there are plenty of people around here who would love to get their thieving claws into you and I'm sure it's not to shake your hand, probably to put you up for ransom."

"You're a genius. Like I haven't been dealing with that my whole life? Only took you 22 years to comprehend such a thing, you really should be proud of yourself." Kaiba made a right turn into the parking lot of the bar in question.

Joey laughed at Kaiba's sarcasm. "Trust me, Kaiba. You don't wanna know what they do to people down there and what a nightmare it is. I know this place though. My ex-girlfriend works here. It's nice in a cheap and somewhat safe sort of way."

"Somewhat?" Kaiba raised a brow.

"Yeah, somewhat. Don't worry, rich boy. I'll protect you." Joey opened the door after giving Kaiba a playful grin. He got out closing the car door behind him.

"I said I don't need your protection, you can't even protect your own shoelaces." This was true as the shoelaces of his worn out sneakers had been untied and dragging on the floor since when they were at the mechanic shop. Kaiba nearly guffawed at the thought. He didn't work out every single morning to be protected by the likes of Wheeler or anyone else for that matter. He too exited the silver Toyota, hearing the sound of music and laughter in the distance as he followed Joey inside.

The place was very reminiscent of an old western tavern in which Kaiba had only read about but had no idea that they still existed. Some modern rock garbage was playing in the background but someone like Kaiba would never recognize it. There were wooden tables where various people were eating things that someone like Kaiba could never consider as food. And behind the bar was a beautiful woman with long curly blond hair and purple playful eyes.

"Joey! It's been a while!" The woman took off the black work apron that was hiding her smooth long legs and came around from behind the bar. With a growing smile she walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck, pouncing like a newly tamed cat on its master, capturing the blonde's lips into a deep yet succulent kiss.

Joey placed his hands around her waist and kissed her back a bit before pulling away. "Mai, you still think that's a greeting? You haven't changed at all."

"I wouldn't dream of it." The name of the gorgeous young woman was Mai Valentine. She was older than him by almost two years but was the first and last girl Joey ever had real feelings for. And she was the only girl Joey had ever dumped because he knew it wouldn't work out. He didn't want her to get hurt in the end. He was in love with her to the point that he had actually let her in and told her many things about himself that he had never shared with anyone else. They met two years ago when she came to get her car fixed at his shop. She came back every day to watch him even though she knew the car wouldn't be ready and they would argue like cats and dogs. By the time her car was fixed they had become accustomed to seeing each other and Joey couldn't let her go.

They dated for almost two years and Joey found himself caught up in the seriousness of his feelings for her. Through their hot kisses and nights of passion Joey was almost certain he would marry this girl. Until the day she stopped by while Joey wasn't there and made her way to his apartment calling for him where Joey came home to find his father choking the lights out of her. Had he been there few minutes later she could have been dead. His father was his biggest secret and when it had finally been unleashed, he broke it off. Ending things with her was just about the hardest thing he ever had to do. Of course she fought for him but after months of talking and numerous different experiences they decided to remain friends and his feelings of romance towards her slowly started to stagnate. In the two months they had broken up she had become a good friend to him, almost like a sister. You know, that really hot sister that you can occasionally make out with cause you know that she's not really your sister and that you're not really related?

Of course these were lies he told to convince himself that he was actually over her. In reality, he was still very much deeply in love with Mai even though he had learned to control his romantic impulses around her. But his heart reminded him on those particularly lonely nights, how much he missed laughing with her till they fell asleep, or feeling her body under his, or her long hair that would tickle him awake with the flowery fragrance that was unique only to her. There would never be anyone quite like Mai.

Mai noticed that Joey was not alone. "I see you've brought a treat for me," She circled Kaiba, eyeing him through her plum colored irises. Without warning she pulled Kaiba's face to hers. Their noses touched and she kissed him almost as ferociously as she did Joey. "Yep, just like I imagined it would be…"she said breathless after a few minutes.

"I have a girlfriend…" Kaiba stated in a controlled manner but he was very surprised at the actions that just took place. Her hand was still on his face and the faint scent of roses filled his nose. He closed his eyes and smiled a little. Even Kaiba, who was known for his heart of ice, wasn't immune to the advances of a beautiful woman.

"Of course you do, what kind of place would the world be if Seto Kaiba were single?" she whispered that into his ear before grabbing his ass. "Lucky her." Before she entertained anymore thoughts of fooling around with Kaiba she left to return behind the bar.

"Still don't need protection?" Joey asked half amused. His jealousy was quelled by Kaiba's latest statement. Joey had always been an honest straightforward guy. His emotions had always been easy to read but in the last two months he had become an expert in hiding Mai-related sentiments with a smile, which included feelings such as jealousy over guys who ogled her or anger over her flirtatious ways which had grown considerably after they had broken up.

There was a reason for that, a reason that Joey was completely unaware of which was that Mai was deliberately trying to make him jealous. Perhaps even unknown to Mai herself was the fact that deep down maybe she hadn't given up on them after all, maybe deep down there was a glimmer of hope that if she flirted with other guys in front of him he would chase after her again.

"Well, no one can say that the great Seto Kaiba isn't a good kisser. That was in my top three, babe." Meeting Seto Kaiba was the last thing she ever expected but she was sure glad she took full advantage of it.

"I've been single a couple times in my life," Kaiba sat on the stool in front of her. "Maybe the next time I am, I should come find you."

Joey swore inwardly as his chest tightened but his smile never wavered. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Cocky too." She pulled out a beer. "You know, I like that in a man. So what's the deal, Joey? I've only seen you bring girls here and I thought you hated this guy. Are you two on a-"

"No." Joey quickly interjected. "It's not like that. The feelings between us haven't really changed. It's just that he kind of unknowingly got me out of a really tight bind so I'm treating him to drinks." Joey looked at Kaiba and he nodded in agreement.

_You told me you hated this guy so much you used throw daggers at his picture and now you're buying him drinks? _Mai cleared her throat trying to keep her own curiosity intact. She couldn't let it get the better of her now, not in front of Joey who she now considered a friend, could she? At least she could have that much right? She didn't want to once again go through the hell of driving him away with her pushiness and thinking she would never see him again. "You know I always thought that Kaiba was supposed be this big bad corporate monster that would never be caught in this part of the city but sitting next to you, he almost seems… human. So, what can I get you?"

"Gin and tonic," Kaiba ordered. He was going to have this one drink, talk to Mai for a little bit and then leave. "You can't believe everything you hear. I may be big but I'm not that bad. I will admit I'm pretty unrelenting to anyone who gets in my way but on my downtime I think you'll find that I have red blood running through my veins just like everyone else." He took a large sip of his drink.

Joey may have originally planned to only have one drink when he came in but he certainly felt like drinking now and was already drinking the beer Mai brought out for him. He started to feel terrible and he needed something to take the edge off. "I'd like some whiskey," he cut in, interrupting their friendly little conversation. Mai brought out the whiskey bottle and poured Joey a shot. "Oh come on Mai. I'm the son of an alcoholic, you're gonna have to do better than that."

Mai was afraid he'd say that. Joey had already finished the beer and the shot. She sighed and gave him the whole bottle while Kaiba looked on in amazement. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>Mokuba opened the front door to the mansion, his lips locked with his new friend. His hands ran through her hair ruining whatever was left of her ponytail. He kicked the door closed before kissing her against the wall. "You know… we… should stop," he said between kisses.<p>

"Uh-huh." She agreed through kisses nodding as her auburn hair falling past her shoulders. She broke the kiss briefly trying to catch her breath. Emerald eyes stared into blue-gray ones until she could no longer resist.

"I mean… I….have…a girlfriend," he reminded her as the crashing of their lips grew more intense. His hands were at the base of her shirt getting ready to rip it apart.

"Girlfriends…" she corrected as she tore Mokuba's jacket off and started unbuttoning his shirt. She moved her hands slowly through Mokuba's abs and torso before exploring his back and pulling him closer to her. Her chest rose and fell against him furiously, breathing hard with her lips traveling from Mokuba's mouth to his neck.

"Do all Americans take control like this?" The woman continued to kiss along Mokuba's collarbone. "I think I like it." After the fan, once invited into the limo, had gotten over her fandom and her star struck fantasies came to life, and after they had made out for 20 minutes, she had let him know a bit about herself. She was a half Japanese half Irish American and she had actually attended all the shows in every city on his world tour. Even in the freezing February temperatures of London England, she had waited on line in front of the venue overnight in the pouring rain. They actually succeeded in having a deep conversation about his music before they continued to act on their carnal desires as the limo pulled up to the mansion.

Mokuba felt bad as he was already in a relationship, three in fact, but as stated above he obviously didn't feel bad enough to stop. A small piece of his conscience wondered why and how he had ended up this way. His insatiable love for women had led to a chain of broken hearts as long as the whole archipelago of Japan. His whole life his yearning for someone caused him to seek attention in women. He loved women. He wanted women. He _**needed**_ women. All the time. How long had he been like this? In the last four years his libido had spun completely out of control on every level.

Seto figured that the woman who left him behind, the one he had been searching for had left a hole in his heart. He knew that Mokuba was just seeking attention from anyone willing to give it to him. He tried to get through to Mokuba but it was something that Seto didn't understand nor did he have any way of understanding feelings that were so opposite from his own. It was a delicate sensitive subject for Seto to try to pry into and was perplexed about him for a while. However he concluded that as long as Mokuba remained a gentleman, showed even the tiniest bit of sophistication, and was engaging in safe sex he would try not to get involved cause he knew that Mokuba was trying to fill the void of the one woman he needed the most.

"Humph!" The sound of someone clearing their throat caused both parties to break their kisses and turn towards the sound. Standing a few feet away was a young woman 23 years of age. She was thin yet filled all the right places much to Mokuba's delight as she happened to be one of the curviest and bustiest women Mokuba had ever laid eyes on. It took him a while to realize who she was as he had never seen her in such revealing clothing. She was wearing one of Seto's white dress shirts with the collar open and her cleavage exposed coupled with black booty shorts. She pushed up her glasses and closed her gray eyes in annoyance, crossing her arms with authority. Her straight ebony tresses had loosely fallen around her face and rested at the middle of her back.

Mokuba had the wind knocked out of him as he had never before noticed how unbelievably captivating Saeko was. _Oh man Seto. I take back everything I said about your taste in women. _In Mokuba's eyes, the personal assistant turned girlfriend was always seen wearing her Kaiba Corp. work attire with her black hair always pulled into an uptight bun. Never had he noticed that she had such curves, a stunning swimsuit body, and an alluringly exotic face. He could no longer tell whether she was a personal assistant or a model. She was a knockout. _You're always right about everything, Seto. One of these days I am DEFINITELY getting myself an office chick._

"Who's this?" The young Irish American eyed the unknown guest while gripping Mokuba possessively. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"She's my brother's girlfriend," Mokuba replied, her tense shoulders relaxing at the words. "Hey I'll tell you what. Why don't you go to my room and wait for me, I'll be up in a minute. It's on the second floor, center room at the end of the hall."

She looked at him with dreamy eyes. "Okay." She said breathlessly before she kissed him one last time. She whispered into his ear, "Don't keep me waiting too long." Then walked past Saeko with a smile and disappeared up the stairs.

Mokuba put his hands up in the air and laughed nervously seeing that Saeko was slightly irritated at what she just saw. "Hey, no one was supposed to be home. I didn't know you were- What are you doing here?"

"I came to surprise your brother," Saeko began, uncrossing her arms and placing her hands at her hips. "He was supposed to be coming home with you, where is he?" Looking behind him for a moment to make sure she hadn't missed anything, she reconfirmed that Seto had indeed not come home with Mokuba.

"I don't know," Mokuba gave her an answer that she hardly believed. She knew that the brothers always kept tabs on each other. "He was supposed to pick me up but the car broke down so he sent the limo. Last I checked he was at some auto shop trying to get it fixed. I'm just as surprised as you are that he's not home yet."

Skepticism was replaced with worry. "Well then where can he be?" She reached into Mokuba's pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Dialing Seto's number it rang and rang and continued to ring. Then it went into voicemail. This wasn't like him. The only time he ever left his phone unanswered is when he was in a meeting. Also Seto was very punctual, too punctual in fact. He was exact, almost a fault and was always where he said he'd be. Saeko knew Seto had a lot of business enemies, and he wasn't exactly the most likable guy on the planet. Maybe someone could've attacked him? "You don't think anything happened, do you?"

"Pffft! To Seto? No way. The man can fight off a grizzly bear. When he's angry he's practically a killing machine." Mokuba briefly recalled some less than fond memories of broken ribs and bad bruises during training or when he had managed to piss Seto off enough. His memories didn't end there as he also recalled a few times that Seto physically assaulted anyone who threatened Mokuba which usually ended in Mokuba pulling his brother off the victim and pulling him away from the situation so he could calm down. Actually in that regard, Seto's fighting skills coupled with his anger had always been a great cause of concern to Mokuba. He would always find himself questioning how sane Seto truly was as opposed to how sane Seto appeared to be. He yawned and took back his phone and checked the time, 9:30. Saeko looked down in worry still not convinced. "He's been training his entire life to protect us, and trust me, I've gone a few rounds with him myself. If I weren't his brother I'd be dead. You need to worry about the other guy, homicide's still illegal you know." Saeko sighed and nodded in agreement plopping herself on the foyer leather couch. With that he ventured up the stairs for some unfinished business.

* * *

><p>Kaiba and Joey started off with a few drinks as Joey implored Kaiba to talk about himself and his doings in the last four years. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the request but eventually took the bait. Of course this led Joey foolishly drinking to every one of Kaiba's accomplishments, as there was so many of them. It was like playing corporate beer pong. When alcohol had loosened him up enough Kaiba then spoke of how proud he secretly was of Mokuba and the unwavering success he's had in his singing career but that he'd never let him know it since he gave him a lot of grief about in the beginning. This was news Joey happily drank to as he was coming up on a bottle of Hennessey.<p>

"So, what about you? What have you been doing in the last 4 years?" Kaiba asked him, slightly curious.

"Me?" Joey laughed. "The great Seto Kaiba that stands on top of the world wants to know about what I've been doing these past few years? I'm honored."

Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Well let's see. I failed most of my classes but I managed to get my high school diploma. I'll drink to that!" Joey took a shot of the Hennessey. "Then for the next two years, I did what I could only describe as odd jobs. And for the last two years truthfully speaking I was doing—"

Mai cleared her throat and shot Joey a concerned look before handing him a glass of ice cold water. "Joey don't you think you've had enough? How are you going to get home?" Joey guzzled down the ice cold water thinking it was a drink. It cleared his head for a little bit.

"Truthfully speaking you were doing what?" Kaiba inquired.

"I was doing Mai," cocking his head to the side he looked at her in a questioning manner. "Wasn't I, Mai? Or did you forget that? I can't quite tell." Joey's smiled faltered for a moment into a look mixed with anger and annoyance. It was probably over the harmless conversation she and Kaiba had been engaging in. Even though he had no right to be angry with her, the alcohol had made him oblivious to that for only that moment.

"Watch it." Mai blushed furiously before her expression visibly darkened. "Don't be an ass, Joey."

Kaiba shifted uncomfortably unable to believe alcohol made Joey this insensitive. "Okay Wheeler, maybe you HAVE had enough…" He attempted to take the shot glass away but Joey raised it out of his reach in that moment.

"You know what I was doing? I was doing nothing. I was doing nothing but saving up for the shop. That dingy little place became my pride and joy. I'll drink to that!" Joey took another shot of Hennessey before he giggled at the hot feeling running down his throat. "But I'll tell you what, Kaiba. In these four years I had wonderful support from my family."

"Your family?" Kaiba reconfirmed what Joey had just said as Joey hadn't seemed so eager to talk about them in the car.

"Oh yeah. They're the greatest. In those four years I didn't have to struggle at all. You saw how adorable my little sister is, she's so kind, and she's always doing things for me." He raised his glass and took a shot for his sister. "My mom's so gentle and loving, she's always helped me from behind without me even knowing it," he said as he refilled and took a shot for his mom. "And my dad…" he paused and thought for a few seconds. "Well my dad's the greatest guy I've ever known. Believe it or not, he taught me everything I know. And he's so strong, I wanted to be just like him. He's the greatest dad that ever lived." Mai looked away, seeing what Joey was doing to himself was too painful. She was sure that if he wasn't drunk, he would have cried just talking about them, especially his father. Like the way he did the night they broke up.

"Must be great, having that kind of family. The only person I ever had was Mokuba." Kaiba smirked. Opening up to Wheeler and sharing even that piece of information definitely meant the alcohol was starting to affect him. "But that was great too."

Joey smiled before turning to Mai and grabbing the bottle of Bourbon. "By the way Mai, to answer your question it's not enough. Not nearly enough. Though is it ever?"

* * *

><p>By 10 o'clock, Seto had sobered up but Joey was completely plastered… plastered doesn't even begin to cover it. He was belligerent. Seto guessed that Joey pre-paying for all the alcohol in the beginning was a bad idea. It was a good thing that he only had a few drinks so at least one of them could drive but Joey had been drinking for three hours straight. He went through these phases of laughing, crying, dancing, all in rotation and it seemed like he was trying to get Kaiba to understand him but it was all coming out as nonsensical statements. That's right. Not babble because grammar was still pretty much intact. They weren't just full complete sentences they were statements, drunken bullshit passed off as fact.<p>

"Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba," Joey said as if the CEO billionaire didn't hear him the first time.

"What?" Kaiba looked at him with slight apprehension, uncomfortable with his swaying and slurring.

"You know you're not as bad as I make you out to be," He grabbed Kaiba's face and their noses touched. "Your eyes are like ponds filled with blue algae." See? He wasn't just saying dumb shit, he was stating it. He tripped and fell on top of him, his head hitting Kaiba's shoulder before knocking both of them to the ground. Kaiba winced as his back collided with the wooden floor. Joey would have done the same were it not for two things. For one, he was too drunk to feel anything and secondly he landed on top off Kaiba who happened to make an alright cushion. Kaiba stared at Joey's flushed face and Joey grinned and giggled at the position they were in. Kaiba exhibited restraint all night, taking Joey's tomfoolery in strides but he had had enough.

"Alright it's time for you to go," Kaiba pushed him off roughly and got up dusting himself off. Joey remained on the floor for a while his drunken statements not out of earshot but ignored. Kaiba then helped him up by putting one of Joey's arms around his neck and lifting him from the floor.

"I want one more!" Joey tried to free himself from Kaiba's grasp but his mind was so garbled with everything he wanted to say and do at the same time that he became dizzy and almost fell over again.

"No, Wheeler. We are getting out of here before you die of alcohol poisoning." Kaiba swore mentally at himself. He should have never let it get this far. He wasn't even sure if Joey needed medical attention or not.

"Kaiba," Mai called for him as they were leaving. "Try not to be too angry with him. He's going through so much that you don't even want to begin to know. I know him. He only drinks like that when he's got a lot on his plate." Mai threw the empty bottles away before wiping the table down.

Kaiba had comprised a list of things to say to that buffoon as soon as he was sober enough to hear it, but when he heard what Mai had said about Joey something tugged at his heart. He completely forgot about how angry he was and looked at him, happy in his drunken stupor with a sleepy look on his face. Kaiba's scent filled Joey's nose. "You smell important Kaiba, real important. You're like the fucking ambassador of importance, Kaiba…" he said bordering the line between consciousness and unconsciousness.

He carried Joey to the car, opened the door and helped him in. He was about to go the driver's side when he heard the sound of glass breaking and footsteps approaching. He whirled around to find three men, one holding the end to the bottle he just broke. "I've been waiting for you all night, Kaiba. Why don't we make this simple? Give me all the money you have and leave the car. If you do that, you and your friend can leave with both of your lives," the two other men were laughing at their leader's gracious offer to spare them.

These men had made two mistakes right off the bat. They chose to address Seto Kaiba, CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, in such a tone. However this could easily be ignored on Kaiba's part as he had the more pressing matter of sobering Joey up and making sure he was okay. Secondly, they had made the egregious error of believing that Kaiba had drunk as much as Joey did. Not that the situation would have turned out differently if he had. Probably would have ended up worse for them seeing as how Kaiba was an aggressive drunk.

But since he had not been drunk, and since he was more concerned about Joey more than he was angry at these idle loitering thugs, he gave them a chance. He really did, sincere from the bottom of his heart. "Listen, I'm not in the best of moods right now. You really don't want to push it with me," he warned them. "Just tell me how much you want and if I have it on me I'll give it to you. Then disappear if you know what's good for you."

The leader of the men laughed in disgust. "See? This is why I can't stand guys like you. You think that just because you have money you can step all over the little people? We suffer in the ghettos so that you rich bastards can eat your caviar and escargot. You better start begging for your life before it's too late, Seto Kaiba!" He charged at Kaiba with the fragmented bottle, its edges sharp and serrated.

It was over in an instant. Kaiba's fist had completely shattered the guy's nose and caved it into his face. That one punch also knocked out two of the man's teeth and he simultaneously fell over backwards in plank form till his head came crashing into the pavement. The two men that were with him looked down and saw him leaking blood from every orifice the guy had. They knew he needed help or an ambulance but they were too frozen with fear to do anything about it. Damn near ready to pee themselves.

Kaiba pulled out his wallet and dumped every bill he had on top of the guy. This was proof that Kaiba had matured into a much kinder person. The Kaiba of yesteryears wouldn't have given those filth anything and probably would have laughed a little while stomping salt in their wounds. "I told you to just tell me the amount and not waste my time…" He looked at the other two, who at this point had stopped breathing.

Joey had not had a clue to what was going on outside but noticed vaguely when Kaiba returned to the car. He was still off his face and his reactions were considerably slower than they usually were but he was slowly starting to sober up by the time they hit the road. He saw stars and colors and was staying unusually quiet so Kaiba pulled the car over to check on him.

"Joey," Kaiba slapped his face gently. His skin was hot and flushed and he was breathing hard struggling to say something to Kaiba.

Joey felt a bit nauseous but luckily he had stopped drinking in time otherwise he would have been throwing up all night. He had a high tolerance for alcohol which explains why he could drink for three hours straight and not become comatose. However his body felt like a thousand pounds and he was struggling to get out his thoughts before thousands of his brain cells died and he forgot what he wanted to say. He also wanted to focus before he said something stupid. Focusing was critical. "Kaiba?"

"Yeah?" Kaiba was trying to unbutton Joey's shirt to keep him from burning up.

"I'm sorry…" he grabbed Kaiba's hand and held it to his chest. Kaiba's hands could feel the heat radiating off of Joey's skin and he could feel Joey's accelerated heartbeat. "I… didn't mean… to get…. this… drunk…" Joey said in bits and pieces and then looked at him apologetically.

"It's fine." Kaiba smirked. That's what he was trying to get out? "It's not like I expected any better from you. You're still the same from high school. Every part of your personality includes reckless. I should have known this would happen."

Joey chuckled with a look on his face that you could swear he just heard the funniest thing he ever did. "Where are we… going…?"

Kaiba looked back at the road. "Don't worry. I was driving you to the mechanic shop. That is where you live, right?"

"You can't." He shook his head. "Leave me here…"

"You want me to leave you on the side of the road drunk off your face?" Kaiba looked with disbelieving amazement at the mop of blond hair covering Joey's drunken face. "Yeah okay, I'm not listening to you anymore." Kaiba started the car back up again.

Joey was still very drunk, this was true. Unfortunately, it didn't matter how drunk Joey was, he knew what he was talking about. He placed his hand over the gearshift and shook his head much to Kaiba's irritation. "You can't." he said taking off his seatbelt.

"Why not?" He locked the car doors to make sure Joey couldn't get out.

"Because," Joey said breathlessly. "I'm…drunk…"

"Yeah, I can see that. So?"

"So… I can't… defend myself…"

Kaiba's eyes widened in surprise and he became slightly alarmed. "Defend yourself?" Kaiba couldn't understand what he was talking about. "Defend yourself against what?"

Joey plastered a stupid smile on his face. "Against… against life…." He tried to open the door but he couldn't get out. He shook his head again. "You can't… You can't…" he repeated shaking his head in a swaying motion against the headrest.

"Okay, okay." Kaiba relented. He figured he wouldn't be able to understand anything Joey said until the morning when he can reopen the investigation. "Shhhh," he whispered trying to calm a drunken Joey down. "Look, I won't take you back to the shop, so just relax." Kaiba shook his head in amazement. He would rather be left on the street than to be defenseless at home. Something was very wrong with that scenario.

That seemed to be good enough for Joey as he slipped into a nap long overdue.

* * *

><p>The ride to the mansion was a half hour at the most. Kaiba didn't really want to bring Joey back but he didn't have any other options after the drunken display he pulled earlier. <em>He better not complain about being here when he wakes up.<em> He parked the car in the parking lot next to the gate as the parking lot near the mansion was already filled with his and Mokuba's own personal cars. But this posed a problem. This meant that Joey would have to walk up to the mansion which Joey was clearly not prepared to do.

Joey stirred as he felt someone lift him from the car. Strands of chestnut brown began tickling his face and he felt very light. Was he being carried? He felt strong back muscles against his chest. Although he was still drunk he was not as drunk as before and had some semblance of what was going on. Kaiba was carrying him some place other than the shop. That's all he knew. That's all he needed to know as he rested his head against Kaiba's shoulder. "Thank you, Kaiba." The influence of alcohol still apparent but he was grateful that Kaiba had listened to him.

Kaiba on the other hand was very distracted by the fact that Joey's somewhat labored breaths were hitting his ear repeatedly, a sensitive part of his body. He tried to stop from blushing but couldn't and he was starting to feel hot and bothered.

"You know, Kaiba," Joey whispered into his ear. "I always thought you were a pretty cold person. Hell, you still are." Joey tightened his hold around Kaiba's neck. "But at the very least, this back, I'm glad that it's so warm."

Kaiba's heart skipped a beat. He stopped, not taking another step. "What did you just say?" It was no use. Kaiba could feel that Joey had fallen asleep, the guy's breathing hit his ear in a less ragged more regular succession. But to Kaiba that small thing Joey had absentmindedly noted in his drunken daze, that tiny thing had made him so happy. The feelings that Kaiba repressed for all these years came bubbling to the surface until could no longer hold back the smile on his face and the joy he felt from being this close to the one he liked.

Liked? He liked Joey Wheeler? His mind had caged those feelings for more than seven years. He had pinned them down with constant denial and repressive indignation keeping that portion of his heart locked away for the inconvenience and the ridicule of it all. Because even the great Seto Kaiba was scared of something: The magnitude of pain he would feel from the rejection he was sure to face. Proud denial was better than a truth he didn't want to hear. And yet, all that was broken down by spending one evening with Wheeler. All that effort was wasted the moment they met again. As he walked up the steps to his large home he checked his watch, 11 pm, and he started to remember the first time he realized that he liked Wheeler.

"_I hate you, Kaiba!" Joey screamed at his classmate as Kaiba laughed walking out of the classroom. Kaiba had managed to embarrass Joey in front of the whole class when the teacher had told Joey to answer all questions dealing with last night's homework. Of course all the questions came from Kaiba who had every impression in the world to know that Joey did not do the homework. Then Kaiba thought it would be funny to make dog references all day and somehow always found a way to use Joey as an example. Lastly as a final kick in the teeth, he basically made the teacher announce everyone's grades. Everyone now knew that Joey was worst in the class and in the end he got laughed at till the bell rung._

"_I am going to punch that guy's lights out someday. I hate him." Joey reiterated to Yugi with an angry look on his face. "He's always messing with me like I can't kick his ass. I used to be a bully you know. I used to eat guys like him for breakfast." Joey crossed his arms, steam blowing out of his nostrils._

_Yugi sighed. "You know if you had done the homework, Kaiba wouldn't have been able to get to you. He did that because he knew that you didn't."_

"_Yeah bu-" Joey's face came plummeting to the floor as he tripped over something. Kaiba's leg was sticking out as he was reading the morning paper. It just so happened that it was a complete fluke occurrence that Joey tripped over said leg but he looked up angrily at Kaiba._

_Kaiba was finished with the business section and put the paper down. Apparently he hadn't noticed the new luggage over his foot and had been completely unaware of what just happened or at least he pretended to be. He looked down at Joey with a smirk. "You've come back for more humiliation?"_

"_Kaiba, I'm warning you. You better not say anything else to me or I will rip you apart." By no means was Joey joking._

_Kaiba nodded in understanding and closed his eyes. He rolled up the paper and threw it down the hall. "Here boy, fetch."_

_Had Yugi, Tristan AND Tea had not been there holding Joey back, Kaiba wondered what would have happened. Both of them probably would have ended up on the evening news. Kaiba laughed greatly amused at the colors and sounds coming out of Joey's face._

_The truth is, Kaiba was very lonely at school. He had no friends, and wasn't really interested in the hordes of girls that probably just wanted his money or the recognition of being with him. All he had in the world was Mokuba and even though the little kid adored him, he wasn't always around. Kaiba was so much smarter than everyone else, and made more money than any of those people would grow up to make in their lifetime. Because of that, people feared him automatically and stayed away. People were afraid of him and his power so no one had really cared to get to know him. Although he never dwelled on it, he would never admit how alone he felt sometimes; at school, at home, or even in the world. Kaiba didn't know it at the time, but picking on Joey was the only thing he really looked forward to at school. It was the only thing that made him feel like he wasn't being completely ignored. See, had he messed with anyone else, his name alone would've scared them away. But this was Joey and Joey wasn't like everyone else. Joey would get angry, yell at him, and tell him to stick it where the sun doesn't shine. Joey was the only one who treated him like his name and status didn't matter. Joey was the only one who made him feel like a normal person._

_But the day it all changed for Kaiba, was the day an apparently expensive watch had gone missing; the kind of watch that meant absolutely nothing to someone like Kaiba but meant everything to people like Joey. Everyone assumed the worst of him. Everyone thought that Kaiba stole it because he was bored and knew that even if he got caught it wouldn't mean a thing. Yet they were all too afraid to say anything. They were afraid their parents would lose their jobs, or the school would shut down, or the principal would get fired; all things that the power and wealth Seto Kaiba possessed were capable of. Everyone was afraid to confront him. Well, almost everyone._

_After school, Kaiba had been led into an alley where the guy whose watch was missing wanted to meet with him. That watch meant everything to him. It meant more than his parents losing their jobs or the school shutting down. It meant more than the entirety of the wrath Kaiba could possibly throw at him. That's why he faced Kaiba with no fear of the consequences._

"_Hey. I've been missing a watch and word is you took it," the teen began. "I know you're rich and all but that watch is very important to me and I want it back!" his words dripping with venom spat in Kaiba's direction._

"_Hey, Kazuya! Do you know who that is?" His friends watched on in horror. "That's Seto Kaiba, just let it go man!"_

_Kazuya had tears in his eyes "No way! That watch was the ticket out of the slums! And that guy took it because he doesn't want us to get out of here! He doesn't want us lowlifes to get to where he is and that way he can look down on us forever!" Kazuya crossed his arms scornfully. "Why are you here anyway? Your stay's been a little too long to be some sort of rich boy experiment. I know you have one of the prep schools on the other side of the tracks waiting for your safe return from riff raff like us. Instead you're here playing mind games. Are you really that bored?"_

"_Yes, I am." Kaiba smirked, damn near laughed at the troubled boy. The ridiculousness of it all, that he would give a damn about a watch that didn't even belong to him. Had his life become that idle that he was reduced to becoming the prime suspect in a petty theft that occurred in the only public high school of Domino City? A theft of a watch no less? Like the watch Kaiba was wearing couldn't buy that boy's whole apartment complex? "Did you see me take it? If you didn't, I advise you to reflect on your own uselessness and not project blame onto others." Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously. "At least then you can keep what's left of your dignity, and no one would call you pathetic for it." The stupid boy never should've brought it to school in the first place. _

_Kazuya's eyes changed as well, they were boiling over in anger. "I'm sure you did it so you could laugh at us later on like all you rich people do, but if you don't give it back, I will kill you…" Each spectator's mouth fell agape._

_Kaiba scoffed. "Kill me then." As if Kazuya could when Kaiba had been engaging in real life combat since before he had been adopted. His words brought on the gasp of everyone present. Kaiba didn't give a fuck and his indifference was apparently clear. Even if Kazuya succeeded in the insane task, that wouldn't bring his watch back, the thought alone was enough to make anyone laugh._

_Kazuya raised a clenched fist without warning and charged at Kaiba. Perhaps, this wasn't about a watch. Perhaps this was about something more. Lord knows the Kaiba name was responsible for a lot of misery and heartache in the poorer parts of the city. The lord knew it and Kaiba knew it too. Gozaburo was guilty of things Kaiba couldn't even begin to imagine. He used people and then threw away anyone or anything he didn't need. Threw them away like they were nothing, forgetting that they're human beings, and these were lives he was playing with. He made deals that would cause a lot people to lose their homes and their jobs all for the sake of selfish profits and personal gain. He even told Kaiba himself that he viewed these people as "nothing but trash to be stepped on to reach a higher goal" and told Kaiba to think the same way. Seto Kaiba knew that the bad blood of the Kaiba name was something he had inherited without question and it was something he needed to conquer. _

_This is why he chose to go to Domino High in the first place. He wanted to learn about them, and teach himself a different way to look at them, as he absolutely hated his stepfather and didn't want to grow up to be anything like him. He fought his stepfather tooth and nail to avoid going to an expensive prep school. Kaiba didn't want to use the money built on the blood, sweat, and tears of others just to eat in a pampered school lunchroom. _

_And yet, despite the fact he knew what he would face, he still could not erase the hatred from their hearts. Though they were afraid of him and what he was capable of, in the sea of eyes placed on him at any given moment the only things he could find were contempt, disgust, and ulterior motives. Eyes that wouldn't accept him. Eyes that constantly rejected him. Eyes that looked away, like his existence didn't mean anything. Or more like, he didn't have the right to exist at all. No matter where he had gone, rich or poor, these eyes were always the same. It was excruciating, suffocating but he was much too proud to ever show it and protected himself with Gozaburo's belief that he truly didn't need anyone. Deep down, underneath all the pride and the bravado, a tiny part of him felt sympathy for the anger and agitation around him. That's why he closed his eyes and did nothing when faced with a fist hurling towards him. He could take a punch, just this once._

_But the fist never came. However, Kaiba heard a sickening THUD. He opened his eyes to find that Joey was standing in front of him with his arms outstretched. Kazuya's fist had collided squarely into Joey's forehead and the point of impact was slowly leaking blood._ _Joey was furious. Livid even. He opened his eyes and stared Kazuya down. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Kazuya? This is low, even for you."_

"_Joey I-"_

_Kaiba was shocked. Gob smacked. Bewildered. None of these words could explain how he felt in that moment. Joey was really the angriest he had ever seen him. More angry then he gets with him on any given day. Kaiba wanted to say something but the words were lost in his throat._

"_I didn't mean-" Kazuya backed up slowly but Joey followed him. His back soon hit the brick wall as Joey took another menacing step towards him._

"_You and I both know that Kaiba's a lot of things," Joey had Kazuya completely backed against a wall. "But he's not a thief, so anyone who doesn't have proof…" Joey raised his fist and tightened it, the bones in his knuckles cracked the tighter it got, "better get out of here right… NOW!" At that moment Joey sent a fist whipping in Kazuya's direction._

_Kazuya was sure his life was over. He closed his eyes and thanked god for the little things he received in life, like his pet cat Spots and his turtle Harry. He thought of his parents who would probably be mourning his death rather loudly at his funeral, his little trinkets in his boring life that he had become enamored with, anything but the damned watch that got him into this mess. He also had begged god to spare him, that if he were to live, he'd want to become a minister someday, maybe somewhere in the Philippines where they could really use them._

_Joey's fist hit the wall next to his face, leaving a dent in the brick and that was good enough for Kazuya. Pieces of brick fell all over Kazuya's shoulder but even scarier than that was if looks could kill, the look Joey was giving him could send him to the afterlife ten times over. He, along with everyone else, decided to get the hell out of dodge and leave Joey and Kaiba in their dust._

_After a couple minutes, when Joey had calmed down, he turned around and smiled, "No need to thank me, rich boy. You've got one manicure too many."_

"_Are you crazy?" Kaiba had found his voice, he touched Joey's forehead then looked at his finger. Blood. "If you were going to be some vigilante and swoop in to save the day, why didn't you just stop his fist? Why did you get hit for me?"_

_Joey shrugged. He hadn't really noticed he was bleeding, nor did he mind getting hit. "I don't know. There was no time to think. My body just moved on its own."_

_And there it was. In that moment, Kaiba's heart was beating particularly hard. Joey, who he had always given a hard time, Joey who had professed his undying hatred for him on a daily basis, used his own body to protect him. And he got angry because he believed in him, believed in his innocence. Joey of all people didn't even have to ask, he just knew that Kaiba would never do something like that. In Joey's eyes, there had always been a certain kind of warmth even for people he didn't like. He judged Kaiba on Kaiba's actions and Kaiba's actions alone; not on his name, his power, or his wealth. He may not have been accepted, but Joey's eyes never denied him. And they never rejected him. Of course he had never felt this way before so he could not recognize the feeling of liking someone from the bottom of his heart, but something took hold of the wall of ice he had put up to shield himself. For the first time, Kaiba felt like he could breathe and every moment Joey placed his eyes on him he relived that feeling. He relived the feeling of knowing that being alive wasn't such a terrible thing, it wasn't such a lonely thing._

"_I think a better question is why didn't you just tell him that you didn't do it? Why did you have to be a jerk about it? Why didn't you defend yourself like any other normal person would have?" Joey was exasperated at the fact that being a jerk and a first class troll was a priority to even defending his own innocence. "Why do you have to be such a prick, Kaiba? I'll never be able to figure you out."_

'_Even if it's just one person,' Kaiba thought. 'Even if it's just him, I want to mean something to him. I want to be accepted by him…' Kaiba gave Joey a thoughtful gaze and Joey raised a brow wondering what his problem was. Kaiba's pride once again returned and he shook his head dismissing his thoughts to which he could only deem them ridiculous and sentimental. _

_He patted Joey's hair very softly. "Good dog." Joey was angry all over again._

Saeko opened the front door with a smile on her face, ready to greet Kaiba properly the way she had wanted to earlier but was surprised to find that Kaiba was in an indignant position as he carried Joey into the house.

"Saeko? What are you doing here?" Kaiba asked placing Joey gently on the foyer couch.

As soon as Kaiba turned around she put her arms around his neck and leaned into him capturing his lips without warning. "I came to surprise you. You promised that we would celebrate the Leicaleitz signing together." She said after breaking the kiss. On any other night Saeko would have been exactly what Kaiba needed. Her gray eyes met his blue ones and she watched him give her an once-over. He noticed she was wearing of his shirts and part of him was excited she was wearing almost nothing underneath but something was off. Not with her but with him.

"Is something wrong? And who's that?" she shot a concerned look over to Joey who was fast asleep on the couch and was shaking his head unconsciously. "Is he alright?"

"He's a friend of mine, from high school. And he's fine, he just… drunk." Kaiba kissed her again. "Look, I'll be up in a minute, I just want to get him to a room then I'll call one of the maids to take care of him so pop the champagne wait for me?"

Saeko smiled happily, "Okay, I'll be waiting." She kissed him one last time and then went back to his room.

Kaiba carried Joey into a guest room on the first floor and placed him gently on the bed. He knelt down and stared at him for a while. Joey looked so peaceful like he hadn't sleep this well in a long time. His hand gently stroked Joey's golden tresses before it fell on Joey's face. His skin was slightly red with the heat of his drunken night. When would he get the opportunity to be this close to him again? Kaiba hadn't even known that he anticipated it. After tomorrow Kaiba would have no more reason to see him. He would have no more reason to be close to him like this. He was sad but he could not pinpoint exactly why he was sad. Seven years ago he could not convey his feelings. Seven years later would be a repeat performance of his inability to express them. Seven years of longing to touch Joey, to kiss Joey, to make Joey his would probably go unanswered and repressed once again. Because he didn't want to take a chance. He didn't want to see Joey's rejecting eyes and be once again subjected to that suffocating existence. He wouldn't be able to handle it if Joey's warm brown eyes turned as cold as all the others.

"I shouldn't trouble you… with these useless feelings…" he said softly as he patted Joey's head once more. "They'll make me ache for you." Gozaburo's voice resounded in Kaiba's head. _Love is for the weak, Seto! Seize power! Affection will get you nowhere! When will you learn that!_ Kaiba's fingers traced along Joey's nose and right above his lips before he pulled them away. "They'll make me weak, so I'll just… bury them here." He leaned forward and kissed Joey on the forehead looking back at him one last time before leaving the room.

After he had called the maid, Seto had returned to his room to find a glass of champagne waiting for him. _Good,_ he thought. _I could use a drink._ Saeko crossed her legs and handed him a glass giving a toast to their success. Seto had finished the glass in one gulp, the latest in a succession of things that were uncharacteristic about him that evening. He poured himself another glass.

"I called you, you know," Saeko began. "It was very unlike you not to pick up. Mind telling me where you were all night?"

"You called me?" Seto checked his pockets. "I must have left my phone in my jacket, which I left in Wheeler's car. We went out for drinks."

"Who did you say he was again? A friend? You have those, a guy like you?" she asked. By no means was she suspicious, she was merely curious. Seto Kaiba was a man obsessed with work. He hardly went out for drinks with "friends" especially when there were no business agreements behind them.

"What's with the interrogation, Saeko?" Seto raised a brow as he finished his third glass of champagne.

Saeko laughed. "Relax, Seto. I trust you. It's just that the way you came back tonight," she gave a thoughtful look as she sat on his lap, "I don't know, you seem more human. I always thought I was dating the corporate superman. I'm just happy you broke out of you shell a little bit. Although I'm a little jealous I wasn't the one to do it. I've got to thank that friend of yours." She leaned in for another kiss and felt Kaiba's hands through her hair. She was exactly where she wanted to be as Seto lowered her to the bed.

Seto on the other hand was having a completely different experience. When he closed his eyes the person he was kissing was not Saeko. He ran his hands through blond hair and tasted every inch of Joey's mouth. He ripped Joey shirt open, making his way down biting into Joey's long inviting neck before nibbling on his collarbone. He moved his lips teasingly along Joey's firm chest and circled his tongue around the peaked flesh before biting it softly, and he returned to capture his lips once more forcing his way into Joey's warm cavern, their tongues colliding with unspoken passion.

Joey moaned under Seto's touches and trailed his fingers down the buttons of Seto's shirt. He unbuttoned then one by one until Seto's body was exposed. He pulled Seto against him burying his face into Seto's neck. Joey's hands gripped his back with need.

_At the very least, this back, I'm glad that it's so warm._

Seto stopped abruptly and opened his eyes. Joey was no longer underneath him, it was Saeko. Was he dreaming? Fantasizing about being with Joey when he was really with Saeko? Fantasizing about Joey and enjoying it? Seto sat up incredulously. Wanting Joey, longing for him, needing him, that wasn't who he was, right? What happened to burying his feelings? It was all part of his imagination, it had to be!

Saeko sat up. "What's wrong?" She asked breathlessly.

"Nothing!" He nearly shouted. He ran his hands through his face and sighed heavily. "Nothing," he said in a softer less alarmed tone. "I uh, I just need a drink, that's all. It's nothing." He kissed her softly before getting up and pouring himself another glass of champagne. Saeko smiled and chalked it up to Seto being overly stressed about work. If only that were the problem. If Seto had entertained any thoughts about making it through the night with his peace of mind intact, ONE drink would never cover it.

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><p><strong>20 pages:<strong> Fufufufu! And that's the end of chapter 2. I would just like to say that I apologize for Mokuba. He's a lot more of an animal than I intended him to be. It ended a lot sooner than I thought it would although I ended up at the same place as I did last time. Also I use the word incredulous entirely too much. The overuse is gross, someone toss me some synonyms. Please review. I look forward to your comments good or bad. I'll update as soon as possible.


	3. The Bond Named Midoriko

**Attention: I realize you may have read this before but I hadn't touched this story in a year due to being too busy with work and school. Now that I have a decent amount of time of I decided to revise all the chapters and do some updating. It's almost like reading a brand new story. **

**I added so much to this chapter that I ended up having to split it in half.**

Just a couple of things. Um, it seems like many people are pretty butthurt with what I said in the first chapter. I've received a couple reviews saying that it was offensive, I've received pms from asking me why I'm implying that Jou's Kaiba's bitch, from gay activists, feminists, and some writers that seem a little too idle with their lives that they feel that they have to scrutinize every word I say. Though I said that I would like both negative and positive feedback, I was talking about my story.

1. So I'm just gonna clear up a couple things about me. I'm not a gay basher, why would I write a yaoi fic if I was? I don't hate women, I am one, hence the philandering and the lechery that is all over this fic ok? So you feminazis can shut the fuck up. This is the 21st century, you have your rights now. You guys should have known it was your time to shut the fuck up when morons like Sarah Palin could have potentially led this country.

2. The butthurt writers really take the cake. I'm not here to validate you. What I say is not set in stone, it's just an opinion. As a fan I have the right to mold these characters in any way that I want (that being as true to yu-gi-oh as I deem possible). If you're offended because I said I wasn't going to have Jou on his knees, sucking the dick of every guy that walks by, or if you're pissed because I said I wasn't gonna have Jou give birth to Seto's child off of some fanciful bullshit science, it's a sad day for you.

3. Lastly I'd like to say that there is a reason why I rated this M. M for MATURE. I rated this M because I am aware that I have a very raw unadulterated way of writing. I labeled it that way so I wouldn't have to filter my thoughts or words. When you read, you're either gonna love it or hate it and that's not going to have anything to do with my opinion on men, homosexuals, or which yaoi stories tickle me pink.

With that being said I did receive a lot positive reviews and pms encouraging me to continue. Is this chapter really Kaiba's final goodbye? Will Mokuba meet a girl that his charms WON'T work on? Will Duke get that date with Megumi? Read and find out.

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><p><strong>The Bond Named Midoriko<strong>

Light poured into the spacious bedroom through a large semi-embroidered window. There were two bodies resting on a king sized bed, exhausted from the endeavors of the night prior. The light hit Kaiba's eyes and he slowly awoke to a throbbing pain in his head. He was waiting for the world to stop spinning and the focal point of his hangover was hitting him right in between the eyes. He tried to sit up but had forgotten that his girlfriend had spent the night and noticed that Saeko was sleeping peacefully in his arms, her naked body clinging to him as if in search of his body heat. As his blue orbs made a quick scan of the room, they fell to the floor and noticed three empty bottles of champagne. Kaiba silently prayed that he hadn't drank all of them himself but knew he probably did if his alarm clock failed to wake him, or worse yet if he could barely remember what occurred last night.

He looked at his alarm clock. It read: 9:30AM. Every day, regardless of how much sleep he had gotten the night before, whether it was two hours or ten, he would always wake up at 6AM. Most of the time, he would even wake up before the clock or pull an all-nighter. From there he would work out or go for a run for about an hour before getting ready to be CEO of one of the world's most lucrative business conglomerates. By 9:00 he would be at the Kaiba Corporation, sitting in his office chair, ordering his personal assistant turned girlfriend to get him what would probably be his third cup of coffee for the morning. Although ever since she became his girlfriend a year ago, she had not allowed him to drink it black.

And yet it was 9:30 and not only had the alarm not awaken him, but rather he was still groggy in bed. He sat up slowly, placing Saeko on the pillow. Now upright, he used a hand to rub sobriety into his face. The pain would subside in a few minutes as Kaiba's hangovers were never anything serious, proving that his brain cells were indeed made out of steel. However, it did trouble Kaiba that he couldn't remember every detail as he did manage to remember that he was definitely seeing things last night when he was kissing Saeko. How convenient that alcohol didn't manage to wipe that fact away from his memories. The cause was easy to determine: Alcohol is stupid.

Kaiba sighed cynically. _I damn near drank as much as Joey did, _he thought. _Joey? That's right, Joey is still here!_ Without realizing it, the thought had brought a genuine smile to the newly awakened man and he left the room to investigate the whereabouts of his unlikely house guest. Joey was here. Joey was within these four walls. Kaiba had no idea why but this fact alone caused his spirits to lift him straight out of his hangover and a small anticipation grew to see him. That is to say, check up on him. Kaiba did not lower himself into believing that he was happy to see anyone at all. After all, he had decided to bury those feelings. Besides, Joey drank for the record yesterday. There's no way he could be completely okay, much less conscious, right? There were a million excuses Kaiba made up in his head about why he had to see Joey, each one farther from the truth than the last. His brilliant IQ caused these excuses to come in rapid succession and before he knew it, he had made his way to the first floor guest room.

He raised his hand to knock but then hesitated. _This is my house, why should I knock?_ Kaiba lowered his hand to the knob but then hesitated again. _Why am I even wasting the energy? After today we would have nothing more to do with each other. _Kaiba turned around and started to walk away then stopped. For the third time his actions were ruled by doubt. _He did drink a lot yesterday. What if he needs help? _He retraced his steps back to the door. _Why the fuck should I care? I can call a maid. _Kaiba sighed. One thing was clear. Something deep inside him would not let him walk away from that door. He knew he wouldn't have peace of mind until he saw him. Until he KNEW he was okay.

Kaiba opened the door slightly and his eyes lay on the mop of blond hair covering the face of the sound sleeper. It would appear that Joey had not moved from the spot all night were it not for the fact that he was now in different clothes than the day before. Apparently the maid had changed him into a light blue short sleeved shirt, and what looked to be the loose black pants Mokuba wears to bed from time to time.

He slowly made his way to the bed, treading lightly as to not rouse him. Joey looked just as peaceful as he did the day before. His face showed no signs of stress and was no longer a glowering red from his inebriation. Golden hair framed his face as he slept deeply, his exposed chest rising and falling with respiration. In that very moment, Kaiba wished for Joey to look at him with those chocolate brown eyes like he always did in high school. Those brown eyes that seemed to understand him whether they were angry or not. And oh how he wished, even if it was just one time that he had been honest with Joey back then.

But only for that instant. Kaiba didn't deal with emotional vulnerability and that was what Joey was to him. He wanted to deny the fact that the mutt could cause so many emotions in him and could make him do so many things he normally wouldn't and shouldn't. He wanted to deny that he had this weakness and would eventually do so. He wanted to leave, he begged himself to leave but his body wasn't responding to his commands. He gradually lowered himself to the floor, watching Joey attentively for a closer look. The grip that Joey held over him was too strong to be overlooked now. No amount of repression would fool Kaiba into thinking that Joey meant absolutely nothing to him. But what was it about him? What was it about Joey that even after four years, one night caused someone as robotic as Kaiba to feel things he thought he had hidden deep in his heart? Kaiba was drawn. Drawn to his smile. Drawn to his charm. Drawn to the warmth of Joey. Joey would forever be the only one, who could make him feel this way. Joey made him feel like he needed to be needed.

And it wasn't just wanting, he needed Joey. He needed Joey to _**need**_ him. Kaiba's face started to move closer to his. He touched Joey's hair gently with his hand bringing himself closer and their lips nearer. His nose was filled with the scent of Joey. It was indescribable, like the fragrance of a unique unknown orchard and the faint smell of sweat and oil. It was intoxicating as a shiver ran down his back. He tried to find some sense of control over himself as he at least didn't want to do anything to Joey while he was sleeping. But their lips were a breath apart and their noses met softly.

"Stop." Joey's voice reached Kaiba's ears and he halted his advance. He opened his eyes calmly and looked at Joey only to find that Joey's eyes were still closed and he appeared to still be sleeping. "Stop," he repeated. His face now twisted into some sort of mental anguish. "Stop it. Don't do that, Dad. You'll die…"

Kaiba was very confused. Was Joey dreaming? He backed up a bit, alarmed that Joey's breathing had accelerated. "You know you'll die… stop it please…" Kaiba didn't know what to do. Should he comfort him? Or is it better to just observe? Kaiba stroked his hair once more but it only seemed to make him more agitated.

"Hey mutt," Kaiba tapped him gently. "You should wake up." He shook him lightly now, feeling the apparent need to bring him out of his slumber and ask him some questions. Joey was nearly hyperventilating as he grabbed his own chest. "Joey, snap out of it. What are you saying?" Kaiba jolted him.

"Stop it!" Joey nearly shouted as he shot upright, knocking Kaiba to the floor. He was still breathing hard, alarmed that he was in unfamiliar surroundings. "Where…" he managed to get out in between breaths.

"You're at my place," Kaiba filled him in. He lifted a leg up, dusting himself off nonchalantly. "Don't even start, Wheeler. You practically begged me last night not to take you home."

"I did what?" He looked at Kaiba disbelievingly. Before he could utter another word, he was seized with a writhing pain. Unlike Kaiba, Joey's hangovers were always very intense. And since Joey's tolerance was so ridiculously high, he never really knew when to stop. Joey's brain cells were not made of steel and clearly trying their best to survive the assault Joey had introduced the night before. The headache seeped pain into his joints as he recalled most of the evening he spent with Kaiba. The evening he decided to ignore responsibility for once in his life and unwind with a guy he used to consider his mortal enemy. _I did ask him. Man, I really got sauced. I could have been in deep shit if Kaiba wasn't so helpful. What's his angle anyways? In high school he used to brazenly laugh at the state of my sorry life and now it's like he's looking at me differently and trying to be… what's the word? Nice?_ Joey ran his hands through his tousled blond hair, trying somehow to sedate the pain while looking at Kaiba. _I can't put my finger on it. He's changed somehow. He seems less of an asshole. I guess I can thank his girlfriend for that. He must really care about her. I guess love can even change a guy like him._

At this point, Kaiba had noticed Joey's pain and had returned with some Ibuprofen and a cup of green tea. "You should drink this." He handed him the pills and the warm cup of tea, ignoring Joey's look of wonder. "Recently, Mokuba comes back with bad hangovers. That will help."

Joey looked at the tea warily. _He better not have laced this._ He took a sip, the hot liquid went done his throat warming his bones and soothing his pain. He took the pills and at the very least he definitely felt less horrible then before. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Kaiba once more, disbelief overtaking him. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Kaiba?"

Kaiba raised a brow. "Okay that's it. What the hell are you talking about these days? And what was up with last night? You drank yourself bloody, cleaned out half the bar, and then repeatedly asked me not to take you back to the shop. And now you are questioning MY motives? Who is the more suspicious one?"

"Oh did I?" Joey feigned ignorance. "I don't remember." A lie if Kaiba ever heard one. Joey had always been a bad liar.

"Yeah you did. You kept saying that you wouldn't be able to defend yourself. What the hell does that mean? Defend yourself from what?" Kaiba asked forcefully, however his face hadn't really displayed any emotions Joey could readily identify.

"I meant what I said. I wouldn't have been able to defend myself against the shambles of my life. You probably don't know what that's like, but we poor people have that you know." Joey was starting to get defensive. "While you're having first class issues like 'Which car should I ride today?' and 'Will I be having the mousse or the soufflé?' People like me have real issues, like 'Am I going to eat at all?' 'Am I going to manage to pay the bills this month?' 'Can I protect the people around me?' Just once, I wanted to drink, forget about everything and be away from those troubles for one night of my freakin life. Is that so wrong?" Joey asked him rhetorically.

"You are such a moron," Kaiba rebuked him without a second thought. Yep, that's the Kaiba he knew and hated. "Listen, I don't care how big your problems are. The answer is not to nearly drink yourself to death and then beg me to leave you on the side of the road."

"You would have done so four years ago," Joey retorted calmly. Was Kaiba concerned? Why should he be? He never was before. "Four years ago you would have left me out there like the 'dog I am,' right? Why do you care what I do and how I do it?"

Something stung inside Kaiba. That one question seemed to hurt him more than anything Joey had ever said because he knew he shouldn't care and yet he did. But even more than that, he had absolutely no idea why he cared so much and that scared him. Yet this pain was momentary and he would never show it. He recovered quickly, standing up in a huff. "Listen you sniveling ass, if you want to kill yourself go ahead, but don't do it in front of me. I don't want to have nightmares caused by your stupid stunts."

"Nightmares, Kaiba? You seem to be mistaken. You see, to have those you would actually have to be afraid of something. That doesn't fit your MO. You'd also have to give a damn. Which also doesn't fit your MO." Joey tried to cross his arms but was greeted with searing pain. He winced outwardly. A hand went back to his head and he could feel his brain pulsating with activity.

"Lie down. You're making it worse." Kaiba gently pushed Joey back on the bed. "I came in here to make sure your liver didn't explode or that you didn't die of alcohol poisoning but instead you were babbling in your sleep calling out for your dad, asking him not to die. So I'll ask you again, what the hell are you talking about these days?"

Concerned. Definitely concerned. Kaiba could no longer hide it. "Look, I was just having a bad dream," Joey began. Joey looked at Kaiba very closely. His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was tense, clearly he was either angry or annoyed. Maybe even a combination of the two. But his eyes, his blue eyes were soft. "I meant what I said about you before. You're different," he laughed at the totality of the realization. "I keep asking myself can a person really change this much in four years? You never cared about me before, you were never this kind, and your insults have decreased at least 50%. If this is an act you're doing one hell of a job." _You're only confusing a guy like me…_ he thought, as he was briefly reminded of his dream yesterday morning.

"_Don't move." Kaiba pulled out his handkerchief and started wiping down Joey's face. He winced under Kaiba's touch causing Kaiba to be gentler than usual._

"_Anyway, keep that. It should help with the bruises, especially the one of your chest." Kaiba tried to keep his poker face intact but as he was turning around for the door, Joey could swear he saw a smile that Kaiba tried to hide._

Kaiba looked away at the insinuation, not knowing how to respond._ More like I had acted far too well four years ago…_he thought cynically. Of course he would change. When he looked back on who he used to be he could just kick his younger self, the Seto Kaiba that dealt with human relationships and interactions the same way Gozaburo did. He took on the pressures of taking over the company in the hopes of changing the Kaiba name and reputation to prove he can turn a profit without stepping all over the hopes and dreams of others. Gozaburo was a brilliant yet ruthless business man and Kaiba had made sure to learn his ways and surpass him in that aspect. But outside of business Gozaburo was an awful human being who treated people like the products he manufactured and equated them of similar worth.

He and Mokuba had lost count of how many stepmothers they had had, which was the reason why Kaiba always made the effort to treat women right and be in a monogamous relationship until he was bored of them. He did not go chasing after multiple women all at once like his stepfather and brother did. Although Kaiba had picked up his stepfather's other vice which in some ways was a lot worse. At some point Kaiba, just like his stepfather, couldn't see the value of the people around him.

_The lunch bell had rung and Kaiba stood up promptly to walk out the door. Lunch was bought at the cafeteria or brought from home and then students would have the option of eating in the various places such as the cafeteria, the classroom, or outside. However Kaiba was never hungry during this time and he would typically use this period to go to the roof and get some REAL work done via laptop._

_As he was walking through the usually vacant set of hallways leading to the roof, Kaiba started to get the feeling that he was being followed as his powerful footsteps were echoed by scurrying ones behind him. He turned around spontaneously and to his surprise saw no one there. Kaiba turned back to his front with a small but cocky grin. The person following him obviously didn't know how to hide their presence well enough to fool him. He casually turned the corner and waited for his secret stalker._

_A pretty girl with long light green locks and dark purple eyes cried out in surprise as she crashed into an awaiting Kaiba on the other side of the corner and fell on her derrière in response. She winced momentarily before looking up to be greeted by Kaiba's scowl. Laughing nervously, she shifted awkwardly under his gaze. "Fancy meeting you here, Kaiba…" she said, giving him a meek smile._

"_Who are you, and why do you keep following me?" Kaiba queried unamused. When he took a closer look he recognized her as one of the girls from his class. "Aren't you Kiichi? Midoriko Kiichi?"_

_Midoriko's nervousness changed to excitement at Kaiba's apparent recollection of her name causing her cheeks to blush a deep red. She stood up and dusted herself off. "Yes I am." she replied looking up from her skirt._

_Joey had been humming lightly down the hallway. He had planned to go to the roof to waste time alone since he had forgotten his lunch and he didn't have enough money to buy the school lunch. He couldn't wait to relax and get in some Zs for the next hour however something caused him to halt. He clumsily put a hand over his mouth and his back to the wall when he heard a familiar voice._

_Kaiba raised a brow, suspicious of the girl's smile. "Do you have some business with me?" _

"_Um," the girl nervously adjusted her hair before taking a deep breath. "Please go out with me!" she lowered her head and with both hands held out a small envelope that had 'To Kaiba' written on the front of it. Her hands were shaking as tried to get hold of her anxiousness by taking controlled breaths._

_Kaiba blinked. Clearly this is not what he had expected. He looked at the envelope with a blank expression before his eyebrows furrowed questioningly at her._

"_I!" she started again. "I've always liked you! From the moment I first saw you… I haven't been able to take my eyes off of you!" She finally looked up and met her eyes with his. "I know you may not think anything of me yet… but I put all my feelings in this letter. Please read it and… um…" Her eyes faltered, Kaiba's gaze was just too strong, too intense. "I-if you read this, and don't hate the idea… then please g-go out with me…"_

_Ah. So what Kaiba was looking at was a love letter. It was the first time he had ever received one. "I see." He fully knew what to do now. He took the letter from her with a smirk and watched her produce a visage of complete elation. But that quickly faded when he tore the letter in half and threw it on the ground. "I don't know what you were hoping to gain by wanting to get close to me, but don't try to use me to further your own agenda. Did you honestly think I'd fall for your advances? As if I have time to read nonsense like this…" With that Kaiba turned around and went on his way, confident he had done the right thing and feeling quite good about it._

_Midoriko stood there stunned unable to speak for several moments. Water leaked from her eyes as she fell to her knees helplessly. "But…" she sniffled trying to stop herself crying as she fought the tears that continued to fall. "But I was being sincere…" she quietly remarked. Petite fingers picked up the pieces of her torn letter and held them to her chest as she started to cry uncontrollably._

_Without warning someone had pried the letter from her hands which caused her to cease her stifled sobs and look up at Joey who had obviously heard enough and was noticeably pissed as he stared off in the direction that Kaiba had gone. "W-what are doing?" she asked somewhat alarmed._

_He looked down at her and smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Uh…" He had acted before anything else and the thinking part was now catching up to him. How was he going to explain this? He squatted to meet her eyes at the same level and gave her a soft pat on the head hoping to cheer her up. "I can't promise you'll get what you want…" he held the remnants of the letter up in front of her. "But Kaiba? …that guy will definitely receive this, he will definitely read this… I'll make sure of it!" Before she could respond or try to stop him he jumped up and fled with clenched fists in hot pursuit of the guy in question._

_Kaiba had placed his laptop down on the bench beside him before he stood up again for a stretch as he got down to business. He paused. Was someone calling him? Next thing he heard was urgent footsteps coming towards the roof and let out an exasperated sigh. He figured that it must have been that girl, Midoriko, chasing him down and trying to get him to change his mind. He made a conscious decision at that point that if he were right he would ignore her entirely. 'Wait a minute,' he thought as he put his arms down. 'Aren't those footsteps… a bit too heavy to be–'_

_Suddenly the door to the roof was flung open. Kaiba whirled around to see who it was but it was too late to block what had been coming all along. Joey's fist had connected with Kaiba's face. Kaiba staggered back, the impact nearly knocking him off his feet while Joey huffed trying to catch his breath having run at top speed the whole way there. His fists were still clenched in anger. "You… are such a bastard," he spat. He certainly wasn't going to be satisfied if he hadn't at least clocked him one.  
><em>

"_Wheeler? What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he asked in a dangerously low voice, spitting the small amount of blood that had formed in his mouth on the ground beside him. He grabbed Joey by his open collar, "Do you have a death wish?"_

_Joey used his free hand to try to pry Kaiba's hands off of him "No Kaiba, what the fuck do you think YOU'RE doing?!" he yelled holding up Midoriko letter. "How could you do something that cruel? Are you even a human being?!" Even after he had gotten Kaiba to release him he was still shaking with anger._

"_What?" Kaiba looked at the letter and started losing interest rather quickly. "You're here because of that? How did you– now that I think about it, I THOUGHT I heard your dumbass down the hallway being insufferably jovial."_

"_That's not the point, Kaiba." His lack of sensitivity left Joey incredulous._

"_And?" Kaiba sat on the bench and crossed his legs. "So what's your point? Other than to show me that you don't get serious unless you're fighting someone else battles?" Kaiba had no doubt in this mind this was true. He ridiculed Joey on a daily basis and yet had never seen Joey this worked up. "So what is it? Why are you here waving that thing in my face? Do you like her or something? Then YOU go date her, you can even read the letter if you want, you don't need my permission." Kaiba picked up his laptop._

"_What is the matter with you?" Joey was in disbelief. Joey didn't have any special feelings for Midoriko and had never even talked to her before that day but once again Kaiba has missed the point. Wouldn't anyone react the way Joey did? He marveled at the piece of modern science Kaiba was, a guy walking amongst the rest of humanity who completely lacked an empathy gene. "Didn't you feel the slightest bit happy that a cute girl like that confessed to you?"_

"_Happy?" Kaiba typed furiously on his laptop. "If a trivial thing like that could make me happy I'd waste all my days being a jolly idiot like you. Pointlessness, uselessness, frivolity, joy without cause and beyond all reason; these are the things at the root of most of the world's problems, Wheeler."_

_Joey saw red. Ignoring the fact that Kaiba clearly wasn't a human being, if it wasn't the little jab Kaiba had just taken at him that pissed him off, it was that he considered this girl's feelings, time, and effort as trivial. Why? For the fuck what? "Why is it trivial?! A girl spent her time writing a letter filled with thoughts of you! Her head was filled with you and it made her happy! Isn't that amazing? And she had the courage to tell you even though she had every indication she was going to be rejected. What part of that is insignificant to you?"_

_"The whole thing, from start to finish, is what I find insignificant. I've never spoken to her, nor have I ever looked at her other than a couple times when her name was called for attendance on the first few days of school. How can a person like someone they barely even know? Her actions and the thoughts behind them make no sense unless she has something to gain. It's only a question of what she wants: money, power, or fame. I have neither the time nor the desire to figure out which one." Kaiba didn't look up from his laptop even once._

"_And why do you think that?" Joey's tone wavered. It wasn't one of anger, more than it was one of disappointment and he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to. His eyes fell to the floor in a depressed state. "Because she's a "commoner?" Because she's not of the same kind as you? Is that why she has to be written off as some kind of gold digger before she's even had a chance?" He thought Kaiba was better than that. "You doubt she's genuine? Based on what? How the fuck would you know? You didn't even read it."_

"_What the fuck, Wheeler?" Now it was Kaiba's turn to get angry as he slammed the laptop down beside him. He seemed to be reacting to Joey's change in tone. It looks like Kaiba had caught on to the fact that Joey had arbitrarily placed expectations on him that Kaiba didn't meet and then decided to get all defeated and disenchanted all by his damn self. If there's one thing he wasn't going to take from Joey, it was expectations. He had more than enough of those from everyone else in his life. "Stop placing your faith in me at your own convenience. What am I to you anyway? Why the fuck do you care? Are you really this much of a fool?" Kaiba took carefully calculated strides and got in Joey's face. "Everyone else here stays away from me and that's how I like it. They know who I am and they know who my father is. They know the terrible things Gozaburo has done and they know that I'm capable of just about the same. I'm only looked upon by others by what I can do FOR them or what I can do TO them. Everyone knows that. Everyone knows that except you and your little assemblage of imbeciles BRIMMING with your ridiculous optimism. And why is it that you especially, keep buzzing around my head like this if you're not suffering from some severe bout of stupidity?"_

_Joey wasn't sure how to answer that question. He disliked Kaiba a lot and he too wasn't sure why he and Kaiba collided so often. But knew one thing for sure: Kaiba's was living in a seriously flawed self-comparison of his stepfather. "I don't know all the answers and I don't know about everyone else but I know one thing. You're not your stepfather. You even just being here is proof of that."_

_Kaiba's eyes widened slightly, startled by the statement. What did he just say? His heart experienced a twang of excitement and he felt stupid for it. "Shut up. What do YOU know?" He looked away embarrassed to feel what he had just described as a world problem: joy without cause and beyond reason._

_Joey narrowed his eyes derisively. "Yeah yeah, you're the genius and I'm the idiot. Happy?" That's Kaiba, always having to feel superior. Perhaps that was just an unavoidable syndrome of the elite. "But even I know you're not Gozaburo." Gozaburo was a man who would sell his own mother if he knew it could turn a profit. He wouldn't even bother exchanging words with someone like Joey. He would never come to a school like this, or protect the people he cares about like Kaiba does. Even if that's limited to only his brother, Mokuba. "Even I can see that you're not him, in fact, you're not ANYTHING like him," he added quietly as he looked down at Midoriko's letter which he still had in his hand, "unless you're really that guy who makes women cry and tramples all over their feelings like it's nothing…" He slowly walked over to the bench and placed the letter next to Kaiba's laptop. "…then I'm not so sure." Joey gave Kaiba a disheartened look before shoving past his shoulder and exiting the roof as he closed the door behind him, leaving Kaiba staring after him._

Kaiba eventually DID end up reading that love letter. And the next day he walked up to Midoriko and asked her out in front of everyone without a single care in the world. This of course was not at all because he felt even a scintilla of guilt over what he had done. But rather it awakened a sordid curiosity that defined the basis of all his romances thereafter. Because after reading her letter that was truly filled with thoughts of only him, he wondered how many layers of himself he could peel away before she could no longer repeat the same sweet nothings she conveyed before she even knew him. Did she really have real feelings for him or was this just beautifully written deception to achieve her own ends?

It wasn't a game to him. He was serious about this just as he was serious in everything he did in his life. Everything he did in his life had to have a justifiable purpose he could be comfortable with. It was the challenge of discovering someone who could love his true self that piqued his interest and became his motivation though he doubted it was possible. And as awful as it sounded every love letter and confession that came thereafter became a test of that challenge each and every time. But at the same time, Midoriko, who he later realized truly did love him, was a bond he never would've had were it not for Joey. The end result from then until now was that the only person he could ever be himself around was Joey. Even if Joey did not love him, their conversations had always been the truest thing he had ever felt.

Surely he had been thornier back then, colder, pricklier. And there was no doubt that he still was all those things and more. Doing awful things like that came without a second thought when he was younger. It's no wonder Joey had such a little opinion of him. His inimical abrasion kept him comfortably isolated. Even Midoriko had been better than him, braver than him. When it came to telling Joey a single thought that Joey provoked within him, deep down Kaiba was a coward. Though his actions back in high school had not been motivated out of supremacy more than they had been motivated out of a fear he was too proud to admit to himself: The fear of being used, the fear of being on the tail end of someone else's personal gain, the fear of growing to rely on someone other than himself only to find that they've abandoned him once again. The more he had wanted to approach others, the more he had pushed them away with all of his being. The more others had wanted to approach him, the more he would instinctively ridicule them for doing so. It wasn't because the power had gotten to his head, it was because he believed what Gozaburo taught him was the truth, that such bonds were an unnecessary weakness that would only slow him down. And every lesson that life had taught him and Mokuba up until that point was that real power was to live without those things and still survive.

Even Joey had not been spared the caustic backlash of his contrived vanity and feigned superiority. In fact, Joey had probably felt the recoil of his pretense the hardest. But if Kaiba had even changed at all since those days, even a little, if his personality had moved even an inch from his former self, it certainly would be because Joey had no idea how much those words saved him back then. That he wasn't his stepfather, that he wasn't anything like him, hearing that was like finding another heartbeat, a heartbeat different from the one he had been living. He found the heartbeat of a person whose resonance had drowned in an icy veneer, his true heartbeat whose echoes he hadn't even recognized anymore.

Surely if he hadn't heard those words back then, he'd be a younger version of Gozaburo today. He certainly wouldn't have found the will to take over the company and drive that maniac to his suicide. And Gozaburo would have used Kaiba's technology and ingenuity for war and destruction with Kaiba probably right by his side. But if he had changed even a fraction from that time, admitting to himself that Joey was the one who changed him was beyond the scope of his abilities. Because it would mean that Joey was the reason he had the current and slightly peaceful equilibrium in his life. Perhaps he could even call it the foundation of his sanity.

"Like I said, you've changed… not that it's a bad thing," Joey spoke quickly seeing Kaiba's face change. "I can't really put my finger on it… it could be that you smile more or that you seem more approachable. I just feel like you must really love your girlfriend and you're projecting those good feelings. It's nice. Like a breath of fresh air, you know?"

Kaiba gave Joey a glacial glare and Joey responded with a nervous laugh. How dare he make such assumptions about his life and feelings? But wait a minute. Perhaps he had been over-thinking things. Slowly but surely the gears turned and it started to make sense to him. Kaiba latched onto that semi-plausible explanation, planning to run straight into the arms of denial with it. His angry scowl turned into a cocky smirk. That must have been the reason why he was acting so differently towards Joey. There was nothing special about Wheeler anymore. He just had to remember that those days were over. He had to remember that nothing had changed between them and nothing would ever change between them. It was his feelings for Saeko that was causing this change Joey spoke about. Denial was his best friend and his life's only true comfort. Knowing he didn't have to face himself truthfully as he continued his silent prohibition was the only thing that was going to get him through each day.

"Well now that you mention it, I'm done being a saint. I preserve the anticipation that you will always manage to screw up any situation in the worse way. Don't worry about how lenient I've been. Even after four years I'm used to how your mind works." Kaiba's cocky grin could only be interpreted as his newfound contentment in regaining control of his feelings. After all, he wasn't supposed to have those and who was Seto Kaiba without his self-control? "You offered me a drink and ended up here. You offer me anything else and you'll probably end up in the hospital," he mused. All traces of concern were gone as he headed for the door. "Your car is by the gate." His hand rested on the doorknob. "All things considered," he looked back at Joey who was looking back at him with fatigue in his eyes. "Having a drink with you was not so bad. Not bad at all. In fact, it was better than I thought it'd be." When he closed that door behind him, he had also closed the chapter of Joey.

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><p>Saeko had just awoken when Seto returned to his room on the third floor. She smiled with content. "The last thing I ever thought I'd wake up to is you grinning inanely," she said sitting up. "Why are you in such a good mood? Is it because of last night? Did you sleep as well as I did?"<p>

"I just solved one less problem… a seven year old problem… at Kaiba Corp," he sat on the bed and kissed her good morning before looking at his watch. "You know if my alarm fails to wake me up, I expect my personal assistant to do so." He narrowed his eyes in slight annoyance. He stood up and walked to the liquor cabinet. Then pulled out a bottle of bourbon and took a shot, just to get the morning grogginess out of his system.

Saeko laughed heartily with surprise. "You mean after last night? Seto, I'm only human. Maybe you forgot that." She got up running a hand through her long ebony locks and moving them to one side. "I'm sure the long list of people you were going to fire are grateful you didn't come in today." She hugged him from behind. "Besides, I tried but you wouldn't get up. I shook you and told you it was time to get ready but you were determined to stay in bed and cuddle with me, don't you remember?"

Seto grimaced. He certainly didn't remember any of that. He turned around to face her, searching her eyes for any trace of deception. She appeared to be telling the truth, but Seto must have been absolutely hammered off his face to do something so out of character. He didn't 'cuddle'. Ever. And he certainly wouldn't do so at the cost of going to work. What else could have happened last night? Seto cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable with the knowing smile on Saeko's face.

"We're going on for a year but last night… it was incredible…" Saeko hugged him once again snuggling against Seto's naked chest before resting her head on his bare neck. "It was the first time I felt your feelings for me…" This was true. Saeko had never told him this but she had always had her doubts about their relationship. Though all outward appearances showed a confident classy woman, she was always insecure about them being together. Though she was stunning and ravishing by anyone's standards, Seto didn't always make her feel that way. Was she just a trophy girlfriend? Someone whose elegance and beauty he could show off to the business associates? Was she just a useful match? Someone who made his life at Kaiba Corp. easier because she was so efficient and intelligent? Of course she had wanted to be all those things for him but is that how deep his feelings for her were? Didn't he care for her? Didn't he like to see her smile? When he saw her, did his heart skip a beat the way hers did when she saw him?

And let's not forget that Seto Kaiba was unbelievably gorgeous. Saeko recalled countless memories of Seto stepping out of the shower. He was hot, steamy, with a cocky grin that made anyone's brain melt by just looking at him. His soft brown hair and piercing blue eyes, water sleeked down from every toned abdominal and back muscle he had. He was mesmeric, and got her hot in ways she never knew before. It was very easy to believe that Seto could get bored of her and eventually leave her. Nonetheless, she took comfort in the fact that Seto legitimately had no time and no patience for bullshit. Seto was the serious type and when he dated a girl, it probably wasn't to fool around but rather it was probably to look for someone he would eventually marry. Hordes of women threw themselves at him every day but he was still faithful to her from what she could tell. On the other hand, Seto didn't ignore girls outright and displayed some of that good old fashioned chivalry. There was no doubt that he could find someone prettier and more appealing, at least if it were a case of vanity or something like that. Given Seto's somber personality, obsession with work, and icy demeanor it was still improbable but not 100% impossible.

These were the things she had been wondering all this time because she loved him. She loved him and had fallen so hard for him. Though she had only known him since she joined the company a little more than a year ago, from the moment she saw him she knew he had to be hers. She worked hard to get Seto to notice her and when Seto asked her out for the first time her attraction to him deepened. She realized that her feelings were growing a little too fast but after being by his side for all these months, she noticed things about him. Occasionally he was cold to her, unwilling to let her in, unwilling to trust her. However, at this point she had gotten used to the fact that it was just part of his personality. Though they were intimate enough, she was the one who almost ALWAYS initiated it and sometimes it made her feel like he didn't want her.

She constantly wanted to be near him, but when she looked at the view of his back, he looked… lonely. He was one of the most powerful men in the world. He had it all: a brother he doted on, prime influence in the business world, with enough money to have everything he could conceivably ever want. And yet, sometimes he would look so terribly forlorn, she just wanted to hold him and never let him go. It wasn't just as simple as being there for him. She wanted to be strong for him, like the rock that supports him from behind. But her true wish was to be important to him. She would give anything, be anything, and do anything, just to be loved by him. Just to have a small piece of his heart, if it was even possible. She had never wanted anything more. Every moment she had with him was a euphoria she couldn't control, a blessing that made her smile from the bottom of her heart.

She was convinced that their feelings were not equal, that is until last night. Something was just different about him. He had never been so affectionate before. He had never held her like that before. Granted Seto had always been great in bed but the way he touched her, the way he kissed her, the way he moved inside of her, though he had never said the three words she wanted to hear the most, last night he showed her how he felt. And he was smiling, it was so unrestrained, for the first time it felt like he WANTED her, like he really wanted HER and nothing else. The heat of his breath, the warmth of his skin, and the taste of his lips, everything was different, intense with unbridled passion. He explored every part of her and after they had made love, he wouldn't let her go. It lasted all night until they were so exhausted that they fell asleep and even then he was laughing against her neck, cuddling her, whispering into her ear that she was all he ever wanted. Saeko didn't know how much happiness her heart could take if all their nights were like that from now on. She kissed him again wrapping her arms around his neck. "What should we do now that you have the day off?"

"As fun as that may be, ignoring responsibilities and all…" he started. Something was off. Something was really wrong. Saeko was a little strange for having spent the night with him. I mean she was always happy after spending the night with him but this morning she's beaming, radiant even. He supposed it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he could remember what happened. It seemed like she had false memories, impressions of the many things he did but didn't mean. On top of that he wanted to skip work? The CEO of a billion dollar corporation would be taken lightly if he could just 'take the day off.' Seto released her and took two more shots of bourbon. He felt uneasy. Her looking at him, her touching him, her kissing him, for some reason all of it just made him uneasy. He didn't know why. "Who says I have the day off?" he asked dryly before taking another shot.

Saeko crossed her arms and pouted. "You did. You said you didn't want to go into work today. You said you've wanted to do this for a long time and that you're tired of fighting it." Seto raised his head from the glass and paused before taking another shot. Then another one. What she was alleging he had said finally sunk in on the third shot. "And don't you think you've been drinking too much? You drank a lot last night… you're going to ruin your health." Saeko was aware that he drank on occasion but had never seen him drink as much as he did last night. It was too early in the morning for a repeat performance. She walked over and took the glass out of his hand. "Why don't we spend our time off doing something more productive?"

Seto held back a snicker and watched her put the glass down. He was sufficiently buzzed and he smiled at her, taking her hands in his. He tucked a piece of her raven hair behind her ear, exposing more of her lovely face and looked into her gray eyes while his hand cupped her cheek. "You would just change your plans for me?"

"You always come first, Seto. You know that." Saeko looked down at his hand holding hers. Something as simple as this was enough to make her blush.

He kissed her forehead. Their noses touched and he held her. Just the way he did the night before. Just the way she wanted to be held.

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><p><strong>17 pages:<strong> So like I said on the top, this is the first half of what was originally chapter three but I added so much to it that I had to split the chapter into two. I hope I was thorough about Kaiba's thought process although some of you may consider it ramblings. At some point I thought I was rambling. But I love the intricacies of Kaiba's mind and I love writing about them. I really really wanted to portray the fact that Kaiba had matured into less of an asshole. Especially if you've seen the English version of Yu-gi-oh that completely exaggerated kaiba's assholeness to the nth degree. I also really enjoy this concept of Kaiba being the one who is pining and longing for Joey and not the other way around. I haven't seen stories like that in a while. I didn't plan it that way, it just happened.


	4. The Curious Case of James Wheeler

**Attention: I realize you may have read this before but I hadn't touched this story in a year due to being too busy with work and school. Now that I have a decent amount of time of I decided to revise all the chapters and do some updating. It's almost like reading a brand new story. **

**I added so much to this chapter that I ended up having to split it in half.**

I'M SORRY! I WANNA CHANGE BACK TO THE JAPANESE NAMES…

waah! I haven't done it yet but I'm SUPER conflicted. I tried to resist I really did but I really can't stand some of the English names… Especially Otogi and Honda. I don't know if it's because I speak Japanese, but Duke and Tristan just don't sound as great as Ryuuji and Hiroto. And think about it, do you guys really want Kaiba to call him Joey? Or Jounouchi? Or maybe I could do the anal thing where Kaiba calls him Joseph? Lol Can you picture that? That's why I need your help deciding. Unless there's an overwhelming consensus that I think I may change them in a couple chapters. Of course editing the former chapters will be super easy (Word's find and replace feature is amazing)

^ I always have to find something to bitch about, don't I? \(^_^;)/ (me feeling slightly liberated)

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><p><strong>The Curious Case of James Wheeler<strong>

Mokuba and his new lover had woken up around 10. Mokuba had slept like a baby for the first time in a long time. Name: Iris. Age: 19. She was a ravishing fiery redheaded Irish-American half Jap with beautiful emerald eyes. That's as far as he was able to get yesterday before trying to tear the clothes right off her body. She was really passionate about his music and had memorized all the lyrics to his entire album, following him all over the world while he was on tour. He found out that the reason she was able to do this, is because she was a trust fund baby much like himself. Her father was the CEO of some Irish beer company in America that had branched into Japan. Their imported beer was well known in Domino and as a result she had spent a large portion of her life in Japan where her father met her mother, who happened to be a somewhat famous Japanese model. Her exotic looks came from her father while her slamming body came from her mother and she was a total minx in bed, sexy in every sense of the word. Mokuba had the time of his life with her last night.

"Good morning," she began, leaning more in his direction as used her elbow to prop her head up and enhance the view of Mokuba's handsome face. "Did you sleep well last night?" she asked teasing him with a soft kiss.

Mokuba groaned. It was morning and his night of passionate thrills had come to an end. He was a bit disappointed to see the sun's rays pour through his bedroom window shedding its light on them as if to mock him for not wanting to get up. "Oh I don't know," he responded in feigned nonchalance, watching the girl use her delicate fingers to loop invisible circles on his chest. "I guess I can't really complain, can I?"

She playfully smacked his knee for the flippant tone giving him a pouting look. Obviously the night they spent together meant more to her than it did him. "Well I thought last night was perfect, sorry to disappoint."

Mokuba watched her sit up and was beholden to a breathtaking sight. Her semi-curly red tresses fell down her smooth white back as she was completely sun-kissed. It had irradiated her, outlining her and highlighting her features similar to that of an elegant phoenix. She looked back at him with those deep green eyes which glimmered against the morning glow. Mokuba sat up immediately and put his arms around her from behind. "You know I was just kidding, last night WAS perfect," he said kissing her shoulder.

"Glad to hear it." She took his hand into hers. "So do you have any plans for today?"

"Ugh." Mokuba pulled her back onto the bed with him and buried his face in her hair. "I just got back. I SO don't want to get up today. I didn't know touring would be this exhausting." Mokuba had toured over 47 cities, performing with everything he had. Stage antics consisted of singing, screaming, dancing, head-banging, playing a variety of instruments, and physically exerting acrobatic stunts. And if he wasn't onstage he was signing autographs or running away from crazy fans. For the last eight months his life had been put under the world's microscope with literally no breathing room. Mokuba would always echo the words of his brother whose motto was 'Sleep? You can sleep when you're dead,' but now a little rest and relaxation was Mokuba's primary objective.

"Well I wouldn't mind that at all… though I'm surprised that you even went for someone like me." she mused.

"Why would you be surprised?" Mokuba inquired. "From all accounts I see a win/win here." Not only was she beautiful, she had great taste in music.

"Why?" She turned to face him, "because I'm so… foreign-looking." Everyone she had ever dated before that day had been Americans. Although they had always been a series of short relationships that she never really cared about and always broke off when she got bored. However when she saw Mokuba's first music video a year ago she was instantly star struck and decided to move back to Japan. "Growing up, I was always made fun of for it."

Mokuba laughed. "Well I don't know how long you've been gone but Japanese people love foreigners, myself included." Mokuba informed her. "And I definitely could have done worse than an Irish iris."

She let out a soft laugh feeling internally giddy. "You know I caught your exposé couple days ago." The interview had been leaked on the internet a few days prior.

"What exposé?" Mokuba had lost count of how many of those he had done over the course over these few months.

She looked down her fingers that she had now been fiddling with. "You know… that one where you're talking about growing up with your brother and the reason why you sing…" she trailed off.

Mokuba yawned. "What about it?" His lack of interest in her curiosity left him wide open for this next line of questioning.

"That person you're looking for, who is she?" she questioned, unable to contain herself any longer. She had been wondering for days now. "Is she a childhood friend?"

Mokuba looked thoughtful. "Yes." he said after a moment. That was one way of looking at it. Her identity was always his most closely guarded secret but he had a feeling Iris wouldn't tell a soul. At least it would be safe to tell her THAT much.

She was very surprised he was even willing to answer the question. Though it stung her to hear it but she hid it well. Mokuba was oblivious to anything she might be feeling anyway. Upon the topic having shifted to this friend of his he started grinning from ear to ear. "So," she said preparing the next loaded question, taking advantage of Mokuba's new cheery and talkative mood, "what does she mean to you?"

"She is the most important person to me." he replied without hesitation. "I don't think there's anyone or anything that means more to me. If I had her my life would be so different from what it is now… Finding her would change everything for me."

Iris blinked. Then she blinked again. She felt like she was just punched in the stomach. If she means this much to him after not seeing her since they were kids, what hope did she have of ever capturing his heart? Waves of jealousy were hitting her at alarming rates but she laughed nervously and continued her interrogation. "So, do you have any leads?" Her chest tightened, slightly afraid of the answer.

Mokuba snorted, suddenly dejected. "I don't even know if she's even in Japan. All the private investigators I hired turned up nothing." He ran a hand through his bangs in frustration. "For what other reason do you think I visited 47 cities in eight months and kept a healthy accessible relationship with the fans?" Mokuba asked rhetorically.

When Mokuba first came to his band with the schedule they were so astonished they were almost ready to tell him that they weren't going to go along with it. Just because Mokuba wanted to run himself ragged doesn't mean they had to sign up for it as well. It would mean visiting a different city every week, some weeks where they would have to visit two cities on opposite sides of the country. They recognized that it was a daunting herculean task in and of itself and they would barely have enough time to breath much less to actually enjoy themselves. But the one thing they all have in common is that they really care about Mokuba. When they saw how much this meant to him how could they say no? They believed that if anyone could pull this off it would be Mokuba. After all, they had achieved significant worldwide popularity in a record-breaking amount of time.

And no one worked harder than Mokuba did. He would've stuck to that hectic schedule even if it killed him. Even the manager couldn't keep up. Mokuba would have a hand in doing everything: sound checks, stage planning, rehearsals, and practice sessions that would go on for long hours to make sure everything was perfect before every show, each and every time making the assumption that she could be watching. After every show the band would be so exhausted they'd head backstage immediately but Mokuba would always stay behind for a while and talk with the crowd using his ability, courtesy of Gozaburo's strict education, to speak multiple languages as his aid. Mokuba would always jump down from the stage and sign autographs after the show even if it was for a little while even after those highly charged high energy performances that left him running on empty.

And offstage they only had a week and in some cases three days to book venues, autograph signings, meet & greets, Q&As, TV appearances, radio, and endless interviews with foreign magazines and reporters, some of which the band members wouldn't have been able to understand at all before having to pack up and do it all over again. Mokuba briefly recalled autograph gatherings that lasted all day, to the point that by the time they were done Mokuba and Yuuki would be the only ones left. Mokuba, in some instances, did not sleep for days at a time and most of the time he didn't have time to party or go sight-seeing like the rest of the band did. In fact, the nights he got laid pretty much his only downtime in eight months. And even after all that in every city they went to Mokuba would still find the time to hire PIs and look for a signs of the person he was searching for but to no avail.

However somehow he was fine with that. Sometimes when you really want something, you have to work hard. You have to fight for it with everything that you are. Mokuba believed this, he believed their reunion wouldn't mean anything if he didn't try as hard as he could to find her, if he didn't exhaust himself towards that goal. The mere mention of her made him feel that everything he was doing was worthwhile, fatigue and all.

Iris let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, relieved that he was nowhere closer to finding her most formidable competition than she was. Though she was surprised by Mokuba's resilience and how much effort he was putting into finding her. It almost burned her up inside to know that this mystery woman was the sole reason why they were even together at that point. The only reason they were lying in the same bed is because he had exhausted himself searching for her. The last eight months had been hectic for her too. After all, she had gone to every single one of his shows and followed him to every city. It would have been enough for her to just remain a fan in the distance, to just gaze at him through a sea of people in his ever growing audience. She never dreamed that she would be this close to him, much less intimate like this and now that she had the opportunity she certainly wasn't going to let it slip away. "So, how did you guys meet?"

Mokuba frowned. That was one loaded question to many. "I think that's quite enough, don't you? Why would I talk about that with someone I've haven't even known for 24 hours?" He looked away from her discouraged demeanor. "Sorry. It's one of my most treasured memories. I haven't even told my brother about it." That's how dear it was to him. Mokuba suddenly became uncomfortable with Iris delving into his past and asking personal questions like she had been doing all morning. It's almost as if she believed they were going to be in some sort of serious relationship, an impression that he certainly did not want her to have.

He liked her a lot, but there were a lot of things to like about her. The thing he liked most was that she was not afraid to speak her mind and she knew how to make him laugh, which he always found attractive in a girl. It was also a rarity that he found that in a girl who was as hot as Iris was. However, Mokuba wasn't really serious about her. But then again he wasn't really serious about any of his girlfriends so it didn't really matter. He knew she was a groupie but she was fun to be around and she would make a great friend. So he wasn't going to lead her on or lie to her. "Look Iris, it's not that I don't like you and I had a great time but—"

"Stop." She held a finger over his lips. "I know what you're going to say." Mokuba looked at her doubtfully. "Oh come on, Mokuba. Give me some credit. I'm not an idiot. A guy with three girlfriends who sleeps with me the very same day he meets me is obviously not looking for a serious relationship and is not looking to be taken seriously either."

Mokuba nodded in agreement. Just another thing to love about the girl, she was completely logical and down to earth. How the hell was she single? "I'm glad you see things my way. This makes things a lot easier."

"Just hear me out." There was a twinkle in her eye Mokuba could have absolutely died for. He groaned before giving her a questioning look. "What if I told you that I could make you fall for me?"

Mokuba laughed out loud. He wouldn't be falling for anyone anytime soon. That he was sure of, his bachelor lifestyle was much too important to him. "What makes you think you can do that?"

Iris hit him playfully in the chest. "Don't laugh, I'm serious. You should date me." she suggested while batting an eye.

"You really want to throw your name in the hat? Why cheapen yourself like that?" Sometimes Mokuba really couldn't understand women. Iris was fully aware that he wasn't the faithful type and yet here she was, still demanding a relationship out of him.

Iris shot him a confident smile. "Because I know I could win your heart. Mokuba, I don't just sleep with anyone, especially within the first 24 hours," Iris told him. "I did it because it was you, and I did it because you're special. Besides you should love the idea of dating me, I'm the perfect eye candy to wear on your arm. Why not? Are you scared?"

"Oh yes." Mokuba baited her. "Very scared, scared of breaking your heart."

She kissed him, nibbling on his lips before pulling away. "Scared of me breaking yours is what that translates to in my mind."

Mokuba scoffed. "Is that a challenge?" he asked her. He had half a mind to take her up on her offer.

She trailed her nose up his neck, inhaling his scent until their noses met. "Only if you want it to be. I'm right here for the taking, Mokuba." she added softly before kissing him.

"Fine." Mokuba declared against her lips. The two Kaiba brothers were definitely related by blood. What one hated, the other was not far behind to detest. Seto hated backing down from challenges but Mokuba was even worse when came to backing down. "You're girlfriend number four then."

"Oh hell no. There is no way…" She pulled away in protest. "I'm girlfriend number one and don't you forget it. Look at me and look at them."

"What's wrong with them?" Mokuba goaded. He knew that he shouldn't even get her started but he did.

"You and I can date as many people as we want to. I agree to this being an open relationship or whatever other ridiculous terms you want to tack onto this but before anything begins, you are going to dump those three skanks you are pretending to have relationships with," she provoked, once again issuing a challenge to the wrong Kaiba brother.

"Hey!" Now she was just asking for too much.

"Come on! You don't give a damn about those girls. You don't defend them when I talk about them, which is a clear sign that you shouldn't be with them. Let's recap, shall we?" she pulled out the three pictures Mokuba had in his wallet and held up the picture of Saori to Mokuba's face. The picture was of older woman 23 years old with red lipstick and curly dark hair reaching just under her shoulders. She was sitting on a couch with barely anything on, smoking a cigarette with her boobs sticking out and her sleek long legs crossed. "She's just— no. No way."

"What exactly was your problem with her again?" Mokuba asked slightly confused. "I like that she's such a badass."

"Any day I can make change out of this two-dollar walking slut, it's a good day," she started almost angrily. Mokuba erupted in laughter. "I mean she is the biggest piece of Japanese whore I have ever seen, with her smeared red lipstick. Who does she think she is, Marilyn Monroe?" Mokuba died for a second, wheezing with mirth as she too tried to keep from laughing herself. He covered mouth all the while, she was just awful. Iris ripped his hand away and continued. "And I know for a fact that she's sleeping with other people. The last thing you need is an STD. You need to remember that I won't have sex with you and your disease-ridden cock if she gets the better of you so I'm really just looking out for MY best interests. I mean what a slut, she slept with you the same day she met you."

"Like you're one to talk," Mokuba reminded her. He was a little disturbed that Iris knew so much about it, but she had certainly done her research. Saori was this young Japanese model he had met on his friend's yacht a few months ago. They slept together within the hour on that same yacht and had been having a meaningless sexual fling ever since. Mokuba knew it was wrong but they had made some beautiful memories together.

"Shut up." she joked attempting to hit him once more but Mokuba caught her hand in his and pulled her closer to him. "It's not the same thing. It's not even remotely close. She barely knows anything about you, your family, or anything you've done in your life. As your fan I know almost everything, and there's no way she likes you way I do or for as long as I have…" she blushed sheepishly.

"No use trying to play coy now, I've already seen how brazen you are." Mokuba replied to her criticism with sarcasm.

She giggled at his retort. "Madison," she continued, as she looked at the picture of a pretty 20 year old Japanese actress with long dark blue hair, giving Mokuba a seductive look. The picture was taken from behind where she was holding up her hair with her hands in a loose semi-ponytail revealing a sexy blue rose tattoo and her bikini strap. "Okay. I'll admit it. She's gorgeous, even by my standards." Mokuba beamed at the words. "But she's only using you to make her ex jealous," she lied. A lie if she ever told one, anyone with eyes could see that Mokuba was an upgrade from that loser director Madison used to date. Mokuba crinkled his nose at the insinuation though, which is exactly what she wanted. "And she's a raging alcoholic. She got fired from her last movie because of her inability to stay sober at the right times." However that had been 100% accurate. Madison had been well-known for her problems with libation-induced merriment. "Don't let her ruin your life, or your liver. She's nothing but a sloppy drunk attached to a great face and body."

Mokuba recalled meeting Madison at a party. She got him so drunk he doesn't even remember the first time he slept with her. Now that he thought about it every time they had sex she would have at least one drink before or after. In fact, he couldn't remember a single time he met up with her and she DIDN'T have a drink in her hand. Then he recalled what his brother said over the phone.

_"It's not like you have any right to talk about my girlfriends. I have one, you have three, at the same time I might add. And two of them are sloppy as hell."_

_Those must be the two he doesn't like…_Mokuba thought. "And Kumiko? What's wrong with her.?" Mokuba asked, exploring her belief that none of his girlfriends were as good as her.

Iris turned the last picture of a pretty girl, 18 just like Mokuba, smiling sweetly with long brunette hair pulled to one side strumming on a guitar. She was a new up and coming singer, the wallflower type. They even did a duet together on Mokuba's second single. "Nothing. She's a sweetie really. Bless her heart."

Mokuba knew there more to come and rolled his eyes at her fake support of the girl.

"But really, Mokuba. What do you see in her?" she asked flatly. "I mean she's got no tits, no ass, where is the sex appeal here?"

"Hey she's pretty! You know she happens to stimulate me intellectually. Seto's always telling to look for that in a woman."

"Intellectual, my ass. Just because she can hold a note doesn't make her intellectual. There is only one way you stimulate someone and she doesn't have it." She shook her head. "I will not have people thinking that SHE'S actually my competition." Iris clearly suffers from the elitist syndrome.

"So she's the one that Seto has nothing bad to say about…" Mokuba voiced his inner realization aloud.

"All my conceit aside, she's a pretty nice girl but I just don't think she has what it takes to be with you."

"Says who? Can you hold a note?" he asked rhetorically.

"No," she replied with a hint of jealousy before getting on top of him and straddling his hips. "But I am pretty stimulating…"

_Fuck. _Damn it, Mokuba was horny again. She started from his neck softly laying tickling kisses before her lips traveled to his chest, her tongue circling his hardened nipple before traveling to the other one, lapping it teasingly. Mokuba could feel his bulging erection throb with pleasure against her skin as his eyes glazed over with lust and he tangled his fingers through her long red mane. So yeah, he found out that Iris was a little bit of a snob, but so what? He didn't care. Most rich people were actually worse than that. "Fine… you win… I'll dump them…" He placed his hands on her shoulders and flipped her underneath him. He bit her ear lightly before whispering, "So just keep stimulating me…" Before she could respond, he kissed her fervently, his tongue exploring every part of her sweet mouth.

* * *

><p>"Oh fuck!" Joey jumped out of bed catching a glimpse of the time. Noon. He had not a moment to waste. He needed to get home right away. He ran into the bathroom and washed his face, brushing his teeth furiously at the same time. <em>Kaiba won't mind, it's like a fucking hotel in here. <em>Joey thought. He quickly removed his shirt and pants, throwing the unfamiliar clothes on the floor before grabbing his original attire at the foot of the bed. He was in such a rush that he actually tripped while putting on his jeans and came crashing to the floor. He swore inwardly at himself. There was no time for his usual clumsiness as he picked himself up and quickly left the room.

There was a pretty woman in her mid to late 20s there to greet him when he got to the end of the hall. She had short dark indigo hair and violet eyes, similar to Mai's. "Hello sir, my name is Akane. I took care of you last night, did you sleep well?"

Now that she mentioned it, Joey took notice of the fact that she was wearing a blue maid's outfit and holding a broom. "It was great. Thank you so much. I've got to go." He answered her in a fast tone, picking up his denim jacket.

Akane looked concerned. "You don't have to leave right now, you should stay for breakfast. Is there something wrong?" She glanced back at the room Joey came out of.

"No! Not with the room, I just forgot to do something really REALLY important. Someone's life kind of depends on it so I've got to go. Nice meeting you!" He shook Akane's hand and briskly head for the door while putting on his jacket.

"Sir! Sir, please wait!" Joey turned around as Akane handed him the keys to his car. "You forgot these."

Joey sighed. "Of course I did." He thanked her as he took the keys and headed out the door.

"Drive safe!" She called to him waving goodbye, to which Joey waved briefly before leaving.

Joey drove as fast as he could. He had to get home. How could he have forgotten? So much for ignoring responsibility, he had left his father unattended all day, was gone all night, and was too hung over to move all morning. Most importantly he forgot the barbiturates. He already knew things would be bad when he got home. The shop was eerily quiet when he got there as he locked the gate behind him, dreading what was to come.

And he wasn't disappointed. When he arrived, the apartment was in shambles. There were clothes scattered all over the place, broken glass, spilled drinks, and the living room coffee table was completely dismantled. The walls were littered with marks which looked like indentations from a head colliding into them. A picture frame of a young smiling Wheeler father with his son hoisted on his shoulder had been knocked to the floor and shattered. The other picture frame of all four of them was found in the overturned strewn about garbage can. Joey picked up both pictures and gently brushed the dirt off them, spending longer than he needed cleaning them up. He looked at the picture of him and his father for a moment longer before turning away. The image was enough to make Joey's eyes water with anger. How could he do that? How could he shatter one of the last good memories they had ever had together? How could he treat the memories of their once happy family the same as the refuse that littered the floor?

Joey made his way to the kitchen and found that it had been completely ransacked as various items of uneaten food were laid to waste on the ground and the cutleries thrown all over the room. The semi-large black refrigerator was toppled over and the microwave ripped from its fixture on the counter, thrown against the opposite wall. Plates and cups were nothing but fragments that littered floors and countertops.

The mess his father created didn't surprise Joey, he knew this was all his fault for losing control of himself and not coming home last night, or even this morning when there was still time to stop all this. He had forgotten that his father had become increasingly more agitated as of late which means he was due for another episode. Amidst this chaos, he heard the faint scratching sounds followed by incoherent groans of unintelligible babble coming from his father's room. "Old man…" he muttered while shaking his head. Bottles of his dad's medication were all over the place. Joey picked up a clean unused syringe he found under the radiator and removed the cap. "Old man! You better get out here and show yourself! I'm getting angry!" He picked up the only undamaged bottle of liquid barbiturates and stuck the syringe inside filling it up with the clear liquid. He held it up to the light and pushed some of the liquid out, to make sure the syringe was working. "Seriously, cut the crap! I hate it when you do this hiding shit!" He continued to call out to him.

He walked slowly with caution on the way to his father's room, all the while gripping the syringe tightly. The bathroom door was ajar, its light pouring into the well-lit hallway. From what Joey could see, his father's vomit was not only in the sink and toilet but had scaled the walls, proof that either his father had had another seizure or he had drunk much more than the human body could withstand, possibly both. Joey hid all the knives in his locked bedroom whenever he went out, a decision Joey made the day he came home and to find that his father was about to stab himself in the face. So as a result he could see his father's blood on his door from when his father obviously tried to claw and scratch his way into the room looking for Joey. Though he saw bloody scratch marks on his door and from time to time, he was deeply disturbed by it each and every time and his eyes started to water once more. He recalled a perplexing memory and shivered. It was of the time he found his father sprawled on the floor, scratching his fingers to the bone against Joey's bedroom door. At that time, his father just kept staring at the door, he didn't even notice his fingers bleeding profusely, staining the door and corridor with small trails of blood. Nor did he notice his own son standing there watching it all. _I can't take much more of this, how is this man still alive? He's going to kill himself._ Joey thought.

He reached his father's bedroom and saw that not only did the door have a huge dent through it, but it had been ripped from one of its hinges. _In his drunken stupor he must have crashed into the door…. _He toddled into the room cautiously searching for the man of the hour, the man who had cause all this destruction; his disconcerted father. A fist flung at Joey from behind knocking him to the floor and the syringe out of his hand. "Damn it, old man." he mumbled as he turned to face his father quickly making his way back to his feet and raising his fists to the air.

They were definitely father and son, anyone with eyes could see that. It was like looking into a mirror as Joey clearly got his good looks from his dad. The man in front of him, James Wheeler, was a tall muscular middle aged man with wavy shoulder length golden tresses and dark chocolate brown eyes. These same sepia pools that echoed in his son's eyes except Joey's were of a lighter tone. He was slightly taller than Joey, his build slightly bigger, and his facial hair was somewhat prominent reminding Joey that he hadn't shaved in nearly a week. Not that ever did shave, Joey would usually do it for him when he was passed out.

Despite his unkempt appearance, anyone who looked at him was would see a rugged attractive older man, with no idea of the madness he housed within. His would-be handsome face was riddled with dirt as blood leaked from the right side of his forehead. His intoxication was evident by his inability to remain at halt and his uncoordinated swaying enough to make any normal onlooker nauseous. Tears of infuriation leaked from bloodshot broken eyes and those eyes were now fixated on his son, Joseph Wheeler.

"James…" his father uttered. "I will kill you today!" He stumbled forward.

"Sure," Joey responded with repressed frustration. "I'd like to see you try. I appreciate what you've done with the place while I was gone, old man." he narrowed his eyes in his sarcastic tone. "It has a nice touch of 'WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!'" Joey yelled at his father at the top of his lungs, having been completely fed up. He had dealt with his father's condition for years but he was at his breaking point. Joey worked all day at the shop, sometimes all night at the construction yard, weekends at the restaurant, just to keep them alive. When he couldn't take the pressure anymore he drank himself silly and came home to find the place like this every single fucking time! It wasn't the first time, probably wouldn't be the last but something's got to give here, it's just got to!

There was a time in his life where they had been happy. Joey could recall the magnificence in the ordinary happiness of a normal family. Everything he had been through thereafter made him realize how fulfilling his young life had been, in those times when he was still little, in those times he could still dream. His little sister Serenity had been joined to his hip. She followed him everywhere and copied everything he said and did with a bright smile on her face. Joey loved her laugh and loved making her laugh. He wasn't sure if there was anything she loved more than to be picked up or hugged by older brother. His mother had been a very kind and loving woman. He remembered how her hazel eyes danced with pride whenever he had shown her any form of accomplishment. Whenever he fell down she would pick him up, gently kissing away the bruises he would cover himself in as a child.

But there was no one he adored more than his father. His father had been a simple man, who lived a simple life, with simple dreams, as he loved his wife and children with a simple, uncomplicated, but immense love. So simple was his devotion it seemed as boundless, as effortless as the air he breathed. But as simple as he was, to Joey he was the greatest man he had ever known, with an admired strength Joey could only emulate. To Joey, his dad was his hero. Every time his father beamed at him, he could feel his father's simplicity, he could feel his father's love.

But the age of twelve had been a defining turning point in Joey's life. Something tragic and unforgivable happened, something that changed their lives forever. And after his mother and sister left them behind to face its aftermath all alone, the young Wheeler father's simplicity became distorted in unspeakable ways. He became embittered and spent his days languishing in an unending depression that up until that very moment he had never recovered from. He ignored Joey's existence entirely as he lamented and lamented and lamented some more, agonizing over how he alone, caused his life to go so wrong. How he alone destroyed their family and robbed them of that simple happiness. Unable to cope, he took up gambling and booze garnering him a crippling alcohol addiction and a wicked betting habit. Yet his self-loathing only deepened and his inner turmoil raged on. Joey had to stop him from killing himself on numerous occasions. Sometimes Joey would intentionally pick fights with him, just to get his father to pay attention to him, just to give his father a reason to go on. Even a small reason like that would be enough.

But all these things were nothing compared to the derangement that followed. His father began suffering from seizures, a product of either his mental agony or the unrelenting ways he would physically harmed himself. Remembering was too painful for him. The memories had become his inescapable cage, his misery. Sadness was like an open wound, festering as if he were being eaten alive by it. And his despair was like a chokehold of everlasting suffocation. So he forced his mind to forget. Slowly but surely James Wheeler forgot who Joseph Wheeler was. There were times he would look at his son with shaken bewildered eyes, as if he were terrified of his own child.

And then, he forgot who James Wheeler was. Self-denial was a sort of peace to him, it gave him solace. Far beyond his desperation, James Wheeler was a man thrown into imagination, inner creations of his own making. He threw away his identity and lost himself in beautifully sweet lies. That he himself was NOT James Wheeler, but that he was merely a spectator of James Wheeler, became the sweet nectar of falsehoods that sustained his very being, as if he were living a perpetual never-ending out of body experience. And he would have these intense bouts of dysphoric mania where the role of James Wheeler would unwillingly be played by Joey, making him slave to murderous impulses towards his own son.

For years Joey had lived this way, in the constant fear that his father may kill himself, that one day he would lose him forever, if his mental state wasn't reason enough to believe he already had. For the last eight years, his father had been in and out of hospitals and asylums. Joey would have to pull him out when they made him worse. Seeing the father he adored in a straightjacket was enough to drive him insane with heartache. Barbiturates occasionally worked well in bringing him back to some small semblance of reality where he would briefly remember who James was but somewhere in all that, the memory of Joseph Wheeler had been lost, perhaps even forever. Yes, it had been what seemed like forever since his father remembered who Joey was or even said the name Joey. His father hadn't called out his name in several years, almost a decade.

It had been the first time in a long while he had shouted at his father like that, reprimanded him like that. It caused the older man to stop and wince as he tried to recall his previous actions but could not. He couldn't remember what he was doing five minutes ago, hell he couldn't remember what he was doing five seconds ago. He instantly became confused at Joey's anger and tilted his head to the side. He looked at his son as if Joey were the aggressor, having no idea that he had wrecked the apartment all on his own. All he could remember was the disorder; the disorder in his heart and mind, the disorder he always found himself lost in. All he could remember was the searing pain and the urge to rip apart one man, James Wheeler. James's confusions continued to be displayed in random twitching and head jerks. Who was this boy standing before him and what was he saying? It didn't matter what he was saying. He knew all the answers for himself, anyone who stood before him was James, a man he had to eradicate from this world. Joey's father raised a fist to his own head over and over, trying to knock some sense into it. Logic told him that once he killed James it wouldn't be so dark in here, it wouldn't be so dark in this head of his. Once he killed James, the disorder would end. "James, you son of a bitch…" His father continued his staggering steps all the while holding his head, his breaths hard and hyperventilated. He swung another hard right at Joey.

Joey dodged, whirled around and kicked him in the back, sending him into a nearby wall. He desperately looked for the syringe. Sometimes Joey would sit and wonder why he even tried so hard for a man who couldn't even recognize who he was. "Damn it for the last time, I'm Joey!" He took a hand and pounded into his own chest. "Look at me! J-O-E-Y! I'm Joey and you're…" Joey stopped. He couldn't say it. It was too frightening. The thought of how it would push his father over the edge if he ever realized that he was the true object of his own loathing absolutely petrified him. Joey remembered what happened the last time that James Wheeler completely remembered who he was. He had to pull his unconscious father off the ledge he nearly fell to his death from, out of the window he threw himself through.

He didn't want his father to remember who James was, but he wanted him to remember who Joey was, who his son was. Even if he had aborted the rest of his memories, just remembering one small thing, just remembering his name alone, would have made a world of difference to Joey. In his father's pursuit to deny who he was, he denied his own son as well. Joey was sick of it. He was sick of being the understanding one, he was sick of being the responsible one and he just wanted to be his son again, not his caretaker. "Dad, please…" Joey begged through a breaking stifled voice as James made his way to his feet, shaking with anger and his features dark with contempt. "Please don't do this… I'm starting to think there's nothing left of you in there…"

James lunged at his son tackling him to the floor. "SHUT UP, JAMES! SHUT UP!" he snarled punching Joey squarely in face, causing Joey to spit up blood as his father stumbled to his feet. In his embattled psyche mixed-up jumbled memories raced through his mind without any way to sort them out. "YOU'RE THE REASON WHY MY SON HATES ME!" He gave Joey a hard kick to the abdomen.

Joey cried out in agony, nearly vomiting. He held the offended area with one arm and used the other to grapple his father's ankles, knocking him off his feet and sending him hurtling to the floor. He got on top of his father. If he didn't have the barbiturates he'd have to put him to sleep the old fashioned way. "I AM YOUR SON!" Joey shook him by the collar as he screamed in his father's face before punching his lights out. He punched him a second time and raised his fist a third time but hesitated. He looked at his father's bloody face and faltered. He didn't really want to hit his father again, as the man appeared to be knocked out. "Dad…" Joey called out softly, eyes brimmed with tears. He was scared. Was his father just asleep? Or was the day Joey dreaded finally upon them? The day James Wheeler would never wake up again? "Old man!" He shook him, but there was no response. Was this how it ends? His father dying in his arms, by his hands? Joey never believed there was a god, but if there was one he prayed to him in that moment and closed his eyes with hope, placing a finger under his dad's nose to check his breathing. He was still breathing! Joey breathed a sigh of relief. He positioned a hand over his dad's heart and felt it still beating despite everything that had just occurred.

Suddenly without warning, James's eyes shot open. He wrapped his hands around Joey neck and began squeezing, leaving Joey gasping for air. "You WILL die today, James…" he was now on top of Joey squeezing the life out of him. "What you did that day, cost me everything…" he hissed, "I can't even remember what I lost anymore! No matter how much I try to forget everything, all I can remember is the pain!" his grip tightening around Joey's jugular.

Joey was losing air fast. "Stop it, Dad…" he coughed. "You're hurting me…" He clawed at his father's hands trying to pry them off but to no avail. His vision was fading. The sight of his father on top of him was blurry and unfocused. "Are you really… going to kill me?" Joey choked out. _The one who's been waiting for you… the one who never gave up on you… all this time… _Joey mentally laughed at the irony of the situation. He knew his father's insanity would kill them both one day but he always wanted to hope his father would get better someday. He thought that if he kept trying, if he never gave up, he always wanted to believe his feelings would reach him someday._ Well, it's not like it matters anyway… It's not like I've got anything to live for… Mai's gone… Serenity and Mom are gone… Dad doesn't even know who I am… so what's the point?_

Joey's eyes rested on something lying in the distance. It was a white worn handkerchief labeled 'SK'. Without realizing, Joey had retrieved it from the garage on his way up and it must have fallen from his pocket in the struggle. He reached for it but he was much too far away to touch it. 'SK' it read, for Seto Kaiba. Here Joey was getting the air sucked out of his lungs, losing consciousness by his father's effort to snap his neck in two, and he's here thinking of Seto Kaiba. Memories began flooding his mind at an alarming rate. What would he say if he saw Joey like this?

_"Don't move." Kaiba pulled out his handkerchief and started wiping down Joey's face. He winced under Kaiba's touch causing Kaiba to be gentler than usual._

_Joey stirred as he felt someone lift him from the car. Strands of chestnut brown began tickling his face and he felt very light. Was he being carried? He felt strong back muscles against his chest. Although he was still drunk he was not as drunk as before and had some semblance of what was going on. Kaiba was carrying him some place other than the shop. That's all he knew. That's all he needed to know as he rested his head against Kaiba's shoulder._

_"You think I tracked you down? I had no idea you were here. In fact, I'm here on a fluke. My car broke down." Kaiba looked around at the repulsive scenery. "I would never come here __otherwise…"_

_"Must be great, having that kind of family. The only person I ever had was Mokuba." Kaiba smirked._

_"If a trivial thing like that could make me happy I'd waste all my days being a jolly idiot like you."_

_"Family?" Kaiba turned to him. "I wasn't aware you had one. I always thought you were a stray."_

"_Fetch, boy."_

_Asshole._ Joey's heartbeat began to beat strongly with anger, its sound resonating in his eardrums. _He would laugh. He would just laugh his ass off if he saw me like this. _Joey's arms moved with newfound purpose. _I won't die for his amusement… _he thought, newfound strength palpitated throughout his body, his fingers gripping his father's hands. He pulled harder than ever before. _I won't be the name he reads in the morning obituary… that he chuckles over in his cozy office… while sipping on his morning coffee!_ Joey raked the oppressing hands off him as gasped for air. He pushed his father off him with authority and holding his now bruised neck, his breaths coming out as hard wheezes. Next to the handkerchief, Joey noticed a slab of wood most likely coming from the bedroom door. Before James had time to react Joey grabbed it and struck him with all his might. Joey knew that probably wasn't enough to keep him down as he began searching for the syringe which he found under the bed. His father let out a groan as he pulled James's arm and exposed his vein. He carefully punctured his father and emptied the clear liquid barbiturate into James's system.

James reached up for Joey one more time, hitting him weakly in the chest. "Die…" he uttered before slipping into an induced sleep. Agitation left his features and he once again fell limp and motionless.

Joey fell off his knees and onto the floor breathing hard, grateful that his father's episode was over. "If I died, would you live? How would you survive, old man?" he asked out loud, voicing his thoughts to no one in particular. His eyes fell on the handkerchief once more. Many thoughts ran through his mind as he read 'SK'. Did Kaiba just save his life? _No way. If I was on fire, he wouldn't even spit on me to put it out, he'd just let me burn…_ But it didn't change the fact that he was alive because of this handkerchief. "It doesn't matter that the bastard gave this to me. I guess it's lucky after all." he said with a smile.

Joey ignored the pain that ripped through body as he rose to his feet and put the piece of cloth in his back pocket. He left the room and grabbed his keys that he left on the now busted coffee table. He opened his bedroom door, the only room left undisturbed in the whole apartment, and checked to see that everything had been left untouched before looking in the mirror. This mirror was the only mirror in their dwelling as Joey no longer had the nerve to bring mirrors into the house, knowing his father would smash them as soon as he saw them. He had a cut lip, a black eye and hand shaped bruises on his reddened neck. He clutched his abdomen, suppressing the urge to throw up.

He suddenly thought of his dad's bloodied face and became worried. He went to the kitchen, washing all the blood off his face before grabbing a plastic bowl filling it with water. _God, we're going to be using paper and plastic for a long time… again…_he thought, his eyes surveying the room of broken glass. Then with some cloths and bandages he found lying on the ground he returned to his father's room where despite giving the door a gentle push, it toppled over breaking in two. James was still lying on the floor, bloody and passed out. Joey slowly and carefully cleaned and dressed his wounds. By the time he was done the water had been reddened with blood but at least his father's face was clean. Joey bandaged him before dragging him onto the bed. He stared at his father's sleeping face for a minute. He watched his father's chest rise and fall in rhythmic respiration, his golden strands of hair sticking from the bandaged areas, and his father's expressionless visage. The ghosts of the past, called to him. Their wails could not be ignored. They echoed in Joey's subconscious, bubbling to the surface, threatening his very foundation…

_Despite his unkempt appearance, anyone who looked at him was would see a rugged attractive older man, with no idea of the madness he housed within…_

"_My dad… well my dad's the greatest guy I've ever known. Believe it or not, he taught me everything I know about cars, and he's so strong. I wanted to be just like him…"_

_He found his father sprawled on the floor, scratching his fingers to the bone against Joey's bedroom door…_

_Every time his father beamed at him, he could feel his father's simplicity, he could feel his father's love…_

_The memories had become his inescapable cage, his misery. S__adness was like an open wound, festering as if he were being eaten alive by it.__ And his despair was like a chokehold of everlasting suffocation…_

_A picture frame of a young smiling Wheeler father with his son hoisted on his shoulder…_

_He had to pull his unconscious father off the ledge he nearly fell to his death from, out of the window he threw himself through…_

"_My dad's the greatest guy I've ever known…"_

_With no idea of the madness he housed within…_

_He could feel his father's simplicity, he could feel his father's love…_

"_I wanted to be just like him…"_

_A young smiling Wheeler father…_

_Festering as if he were being eaten alive by it…_

_Was the madness he housed within…_

Then it all hit him. At that moment, it came tumbling down all at once like a ton of bricks: Their ram shackled home, his father's depravity, and the fact that he was totally alone… There was nothing he could do. There wasn't one aspect of his life he could control. His father was insane. Not the expression one uses to joke around with friends but James Wheeler was afflicted with true insanity. To hell with optimism. To hell with hope. To hell with the useless positivity that stopped him facing the truth all this time. His father would never get better, he would never remember who he was, and Joey would be forced to live like this until one of them was dead. He fell to his knees, and for the first time in a long time, he cried. He buried his head in his hands, soft golden hair matting his features, and he cried his heart out._ Why? Why me? It's heavy… _So heavy was the weight of his life that the tears continued to fall. They fell with vigor as if to escape their ocular prison. He had held them back for so long for so many people. He had no doubt that tomorrow he would carry on doing so, but for now he couldn't stop them, no matter how hard he tried.

_It's just too heavy…_

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><p><strong>20 pages:<strong> So I had to stop here of my fingers would have fallen off. Like I said this was originally part of chapter 3 but I added so much too it that I had to cut it in half.

**This is still a puppyshipping, I promise.** It's just that there were a lot of things to cover first. The person Mokuba's looking for as well as Joey's father will be super relevant later on. And I just want to dynamic and add other elements and other couples too. Remember this is not only a romance but a drama. I tend to ramble on in these chapters in a very dramatic fashion and I don't know if that's a bad thing but I have more fun doing it that way.

And for those that think Kaiba's being too nice and it's out of character for him to be less assholey, I'd like to remind you that this is based off of the Japanese version of Seto Kaiba. The American version turned him into a grade A jerk and grossly exaggerated that part of his personality. In actuality, he's more of a grade B jerk, and in his defense, in the show even he has his moments where he shows great concern for Joey. I want this fic to be about how Kaiba has matured since those days. He's older, wiser, a little bit more mellowed out from the days of being angry at the world for every little thing. I mean Kaiba still plenty butthurt but I hope I can accurately portray the very valid reason he has to be butthurt.

Also I'm very sorry that I didn't have time to cover Duke Devlin and Megumi. Their relationship will get progressively more important and I'll cover it more in the next chapter. Read and Review. I will update as soon as possible. Kthnxbai

**You know what I'll do? I'll create a poll FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER and see how it goes. Whether I should use the Japanese names or the English names. You can find it and vote on my profile. **


	5. Therapy, Anyone?

**Attention: I realize you may have read this before but I hadn't touched this story in a year due to being too busy with work and school. Now that I have a decent amount of time of I decided to revise all the chapters and do some updating. It's almost like reading a brand new story. **

Self defense #1: No one has mentioned this yet but I kind of contradicted myself. I said that I didn't want Joey to be some weak bitch that needs saving and I meant that. That's why I really struggled with my portrayal of Joey last chapter. Then I remembered that this is a drama. Kazuki Takahashi's Katsuya Jounouchi was a fearless brazen guy. But that's because he had Honda, his pals, his sister, duel monsters, etc. You strip it all away: no Honda, no Yuugi, no Anzu, no Mai, no Shizuka, a legally insane father who he still loves with all his heart and absolutely no time to play cards, what would Katsuya say? I don't know, because I'm not Kazuki Takahashi. I can only hope that he would agree with me and say "Good god, somebody save this guy!" What do you guys think?

Self defense #2: This is the last time I'm gonna say this, I think. I started off writing this story because I read a seto/jou fic that was so horrendous, I laughed myself into literacy. For the sake of that author's last shred of dignity, they and their piece of shit story shall go unmentioned. When I started, I didn't even think people read author notes unless they were funny or interesting, I know that I sure don't. That is why I spoke as honest and as uncensored as possible, to be funny and interesting and nothing more. The people who harass me via pm know that they are full of shit, that's why these loitering lowlifes don't review so the rest of the world can see how stupid they are. Chapter five and people are STILL bitching about something I said four chapters ago. Long hair, don't care. If you're offended, go find the world's smallest violin and play it to your heart's content. Don't let the binky and the soiled diapers hit you on the way out.

**And for the idle pansy jackasses who pm me trying to piss me the fuck off:** I wipe a horse's ass with what you think. Go lick llama lumps and suck on a monkey's nipple.

**P.S:** When I wrote this because some 40 year old basement dweller kept pming me trying to piss me off. I guess they got what they wanted and I lost that battle. If you're a fan of mine please don't hold it against me 0_~ I'm not saying you can't pm me and have a healthy debate if you disagree with my views or my story. I love disagreements and debates, it's a great thing for the writing process. But when you start being a fucking twat about it and blindly admonish me for speaking my mind, you deserve everything I say about you and more. Kthnx.

Disclaimer: There was actually a time when I did in fact own all these characters… Then my alarm clock rang and I woke up from that dream. -_- What a kick in the teeth that was.

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><p><strong>Therapy, Anyone?<strong>

Duke Devlin sat outdoors at a café called Madeleine waiting for his morning coffee from the resident coffee girl at Dungeon Dice Enterprises. He guessed this is what they would call a morning date. He had spent the last two weeks trying to convince her to go out on a date with him. Yesterday evening she became frantic and came to his office.

"_I'm really sorry, Mr Devlin. I know you have more important things to do…" Megumi started. She could barely get the words out because she had been crying so hard. Tears stained her face as Duke looked in her watery blue eyes._

"_What's the matter, Megumi?" Duke gave her a concerned look._

"_You're not busy, are you? I don't want to get in your way."_

"_Just tell me what's wrong." Duke said calmly as he left his seat and made his way to her._

_For some reason she cried even more when Duke was in front of her, giving her his full attention. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I lost my locket. That locket means everything to me and I can't find it. I already told security about it but they're taking too long. I was wondering if you could help me look for it. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something, I just—"_

"_Where did you see it last?" Duke asked her, gently wiping away her falling tears._

Duke and Megumi spent three hours looking for the thing. He finally found it in the copy room floor under a pile of papers. It appears that when Megumi bent down to get papers the locket got caught on the machine and fell to the floor and over the course of the day papers had been piling on top of it. Anyways, to thank him she agreed to treat him to coffee here, at Madeleine, the next day and now he was waiting on her to get it. Duke suddenly felt something hot and turned to see Megumi pushing the coffee against his face playfully.

_Duke waited for Tristan to get the orders while he fiddled on his phone answering business emails when he suddenly felt something ice cold. He turned to see Tristan playfully pushing a soda against his face._

_She really IS like him…_Duke took the coffee with a smile and looked at her again. Something about her was so familiar. Something about her made him so comfortable. "So how did you sleep last night?"

"Okay, considering I got home at two in the morning," Megumi said with a smile. Megumi looked exceptionally pretty today. Since she had gotten home so late, she didn't have time to straighten her hair as she always did every morning. Thus it was not pulled into a bun but rather fell in loose curls over her shoulders exposing the black natural highlights in her brunette locks. The color of her soft red lips matched her rosy cheeks on the cold autumn day as she opened her coffee and smelled the hazelnut blend of her mocha latte. "Mr. Devlin?"

"Duke."

"Can I ask you something?" Her big blue eyes brought their attention back to Duke.

"Shoot." he said taking a sip of his cappuccino.

"Why me? Why are you so fixated on me? Why do you want to date boring old me?" she saw Duke put his coffee down. "I mean, I read about you in the papers and I don't mean to sound harsh but you don't seem to be suffering from lack of bed partners so… I mean, I'm not one of those girls you can have on the side… You could be with anyone you want to… I don't know what I'm saying, just forget it." She raised her latte to her lips and drank furiously almost burning her tongue.

Duke smiled at the bashful gesture. "It's because you remind me of someone." Megumi stopped and looked at him confused. Was she just a replacement for one of his sleazy lady friends? "Someone I met in high school whose heart I kind of broke so to speak."

"Oh?" She made a weird face. _Oh? I said 'oh?'What's wrong with me? Come on, Megumi you're smart! You could have thought of something better to say than 'oh?'_

"I treated that person awful for so long, just trying to hide my own feelings. I did terrible things, because I was so selfish and I've always regretted it. We left on really bad terms."

"Oh." she said, putting her latte down. _Megumi, don't you have anything else to say than that?_

"But make no mistake, I don't want to date you because I feel sorry or because of someone in my past. I want to date you because there's something about you that is so gentle, just like… uh…" he looked down not really able to finish, he didn't really want to say his name.

"Just like that girl was? The one you met in high school?"

_Girl?_ "Yeah. Anyway, I know I have a track record. I know that people call me the high society's playboy but I'm tired of all that. For some reason I look at you and think 'I wanna do it right this time.'" Green eyes met blue ones as Duke took Megumi's hand in his. "I'll be good to you."

The latte was too hot. That must be it. Megumi's fair skin was replaced with reddest blush Duke had ever seen a girl have in his life. Megumi pulled her hand away softly and guzzled her latte nearly choking on it. Duke laughed watching her antics. _She's so cute…_ he thought.

_Tristan drank his soda too fast nearly choking on it. He put the can down and started coughing furiously much to Duke's amusement._

Duke blinked. Why did he keep thinking of Tristan? That was Megumi he was looking at, coughing over her latte.

"I don't look like her do I?" Megumi asked warily. She would not star in her own version of a high school chick flick.

For the second time that morning, Duke laughed heartily. It actually took him a while to stop. The fact that Megumi was asking him to compare her to a guy amused him greatly. "Yes and no." Megumi raised a brow. "Hair, yeah kind of, but shorter. Eyes, no way. I've never seen eyes as blue as yours." Megumi blushed something terrible. Seriously Madeleine has to do something about their coffee. "She has more of a manly stature though. You're way more petite."

"Complimenting my figure will get you nowhere, Devlin." She said getting bold as the red hue on her face lightened. "Besides, I haven't forgotten that you nearly killed me, great start to all this by the way."

"Shut up, you know that was an accident." _At least she's dropped the Mr. Devlin. _"Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"You know the locket that you always wear, the one you lost yesterday?" He eyed the piece of jewelry in question hanging around her neck. "Who's in it?"

She blinked. A bit startled she grabbed the locket into her hand. "Why would you want to know that, Duke?"

"Is it you and another guy?"

She grinned. "What if it is?"

"I might get jealous, if it's you snuggling up with a past boyfriend," Duke made a displeased face.

It was Megumi turn to laugh hard while Duke blushed. He was being serious here why was she laughing? "Okay, okay! I may have never found it if it weren't for you so I suppose you have a right to know." She sighed. "I was an only child. My parents died in a house fire when I was four and on that day my mother's sister and her kids came to pick me up. While I was crying, standing in front of the burnt down house, a boy runs up to me and holds out his hand saying 'Don't cry. You'll never be alone again. I'll protect you.'

_Megumi stood there on a dirt road in front of what used to be her home. The smoke had settled, the dust had cleared, and she opened her eyes to find that the home she had once lived in was nothing more than a piled of ash and debris. The yard was surrounded by yellow police tape barring anyone from access. Her parents dead and gone. Police left to investigate. Not a bird chirped. Not a tree whistled. It was a world of silence, save the bitter tears of young four year old girl. She cried with everything she was, tears rolling down her face, her small frame unable to accept her loss._

_A little hand touched her shoulder. She looked at the hand before turning around. A small brown haired boy smiled before putting his hand in front of her. "Don't cry. You'll never be alone again. I'll protect you…"_

Duke felt like such an ass for even asking her to relive painful memories. "It must have been hard for you." He nervously sipped his coffee.

"Actually it wasn't. I was never sad again after that." Her eyes just seemed to jump to life as she was talking about her cousin. "We grew up together. I was always following him, hiding behind him. And like he promised, he was always protecting me up until eighth grade. The school acknowledged my intelligence and offered to send me to an elite boarding school in America. I didn't really want to leave them behind, they were my family. But they knew it would be better for my future so they pushed me into going. Still, he wrote letters to me all the time. The first year I was there, he sent me this locket of the two of us together and wrote me a letter saying 'Don't be scared, okay? You're not alone, you'll always have a home to come back to.' I know it's silly, a grown woman still carrying this thing around, but it's very important to me." Megumi finished, wondering why she shared such an embarrassing story with him.

"Wow. He sounds like a great guy," There was a pain in those words. Duke thought of his mother and father and wished he had a warm loving family like that. "You must love him a lot."

_A little hand touched her shoulder. She looked at the hand before turning around. A small brown haired boy smiled before putting his hand in front of her. "Don't cry. You'll never be alone again. I'll protect you."_

_Megumi hesitated as she wiped her tears to get a better look. She was unsure of what the future held, but she decided that she would take that hand and let it lead her. The boy smiled, "I'm Tristan, what's your name?"_

Megumi held the locket into her hand once more, looking at it briefly before smiling. "I love him with all my heart."

* * *

><p>Driving from one end of Domino to the other, would probably take one three whole hours or more. It was a large and expanding city, bustling with life at any given time of the day. It was always growing, always innovating becoming one of the largest technologically advanced cities in the world. There was a reason for this: that being because of Domino's ability to divide and organize itself.<p>

Domino had numerous parts of its massive metropolis. There was the business district; comprised of many skyscraper office buildings. In America, a place like that would be called Wall Street. It was the home of huge corporate giants such as Kaiba Corporation, and Dungeon Dice Enterprises. Such huge businesses became the fabric and the backbone of Domino, as they were responsible for bringing in the revenue for the city's expansion as well as drawing in tourists with their products and attractions. There were strict laws and regulations to protect the citizens whose livelihood was in the business district as well as the shopping district right next to it. The shopping district housed Domino Mall: a giant mall filled with various different stores suited for all class of citizen. Domino Arcade and Domino Fields were also a big part of the scenery. Though Kaiba Corp made income worldwide, in Domino the shopping district was Kaiba Corp's biggest source of profits, as all their products were displayed and sold there.

Just behind the business district, the socialites' district housed a myriad of buildings and activities for the richer finer folk of Domino such as the Domino Country Club, Domino Golf Course, and Baton Rouge: Domino's most dazzling and expensive restaurant. The more affluent visitors also stayed in Domino Bohemia: the city's most glamorous and illustrious hotel, posh with luxury. Needless to say, anyone who didn't make at least a seven figure salary didn't last long in the socialites' district. Next to that is Domino Hills: a partially gated community resting on the large uphill of the city, overlooking a breathtaking view of the wondrous domain. This was the location of the million dollar mansions that occupy many acres past the city limits. It's the habitat of people like the Devlin family, where they can lavish without recourse. The Devlin mansion was known for hosting majestic ballroom business parties and their home was regarded as one of the most exquisite dwellings that ever graced Domino, its extravagance rivaled only by one other.

But then, there was the other side of the tracks. The Domino Slums: a lawless zone where poverty runs rampant and danger is at an all-time high, particularly at night. The higher society of Domino had always viewed this place as unimportant yet necessary filth that every city has. 'Every place needs a garbage can.' Gozaburo used to say, as he never went through the unpleasant region without sufficient protection. Near the slums but a considerable distance from it, was Domino High; the only public high school in Domino (**a/n: **a testament to their advancements cause in Japan you usually pay for high school). The rest of the schools were private at varying price ranges. Both Seto Kaiba and Duke Devlin insisted on attending Domino High and the school became famous for having given both young men their diplomas, not like they had much choice in the matter considering who their parents were, but a fact that the school took pride in.

The entrance was the nicest cleanest part of the slums, near there were a variety of businesses as well as Domino Pier, it's boardwalk extending to the crystal blue sea. Import and export ships reach Domino Docks every day, becoming the livelihood of Domino's fishermen. The money was decent, but the work dangerous as many people leaving to support their families knew there was a chance they wouldn't come back alive if they were caught in a shipwreck, or a storm at sea. The vast sea turned into a small river under Little Bridge, one of the smaller bridges of Domino found only in the slums.

The deeper into the slums one ventured, the worse it was, but the worst part was the Domino Mine: an old mine at the outskirts of the city that had been around since when it was built in 1860s when Domino was still a hopeless farm town. With the coming of the black ships, when Japan finally opened its doors to trade and western influence, the mine established pride to the people of Domino back then. Now it was more of a hidden away embarrassment amongst the changing times. Gozaburo had forced people to work in the mines under the worst conditions, caring very little of their lives, their safety, or the consequences of such an endeavor. He lined his pockets with needless superfluous methods like that for years. In the five years since his death, Seto had since ended the inhumane practice, calling it barbaric and uncalled for. As a result, the mine had been inoperable through a series of minor earthquakes and lack of upkeep. It had now become a sanctuary to the more seedy characters of the slums.

Prostitutes, drug dealers, gamblers, and loan sharks now frequented the dilapidated structure to do business. Their merrymakings and gatherings of overindulgence could be heard lasting all through the night. No one, not even the police, really gave enough of a damn to stop them. When it came to the slums, authorities were unwilling to deal with the pandemonium every single time they arrived on the scene. They had a lot of open and shut cases, a lot of John and Jane Does, and their investigations usually amounted to nothing out of sheer neglect or lack of motivation. It was almost like the slums represented a small group of people who were thrown away by the very place they called home.

Despite all these different parts of Domino, none of them were quite as important as the moonlighting district. It was the middle ground between the high society and the slumlords. Rich and poor blended into one in the moonlighting district, creating a strong middle classed economic cycle as people looking for second jobs usually found them there. The police headquarters and city hall were stationed there and the district was littered with well built, nice yet inexpensive homes as well as a lovely chain of apartments, the Domino Townhouses. The moonlighting district was filled with the restaurants, bookstores, game shops, banks, and civic services that made Domino complete, lacking nothing.

The Mutou game shop was the most popular in the area, though it had shut down ever since they had gone to Cairo for archaic duel monsters research of its ancient Egyptian secrets. Takeshi's restaurant that Joey worked at was also there and was one of the most frequented businesses in the area. There were places of construction all over the Domino, but the construction yard Joey worked at was in the moonlighting district, operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It was a yard that absolutely lit up in the night time with the sounds of clanging metal and sawed wood, helping to create a semi-urban semi-suburban metropolitan that never sleeps. The magic of the moonlighting district was a thing of beauty in its own unique way, bringing a special normalcy unseen anywhere else in Domino.

On this day, under a clear blue sky, a man dressed in a black turtleneck underneath a long flowing dark blue trench coat walked along Spooner St., a street normally bustling with the activity of the moonlighting district's finest but now looked to be deserted and closed off. He pushed up his sunglasses and tightened his grip on his briefcase before continuing his brisk walk to a destination unknown. He finally halted in front of a small quaint white building. 'Clinical Psychology' the welcome sign read, to which the man glanced at before heading inside.

The man walked to the elevator of the vacant building and used it to reach the highest floor, floor six. He walked down a long corridor with doors that rang in numeric succession of one another: 601, 602, 603… and so on. Each had the name of a different doctor underneath it. He stopped in front of one door in particular and gave a curt knock on the door of room 608.

A pretty older woman, no more than 30, with straight dark red hair tied to one side answered the door. She was nervous at first, pushing her glasses against her blue-green eyes for a better look. Nervousness quickly turned into annoyance when she realized that the man she was standing face to face with was not some kind of shady character but rather the patient that she had been waiting for. "Really? We're gonna do it like this? You're dressed like a cyber hit man."

"You weren't followed, were you?" the man asked entering the office room.

"How would I know? It wasn't like I was looking over my shoulder, Mr. Kaiba…" she told him, as he sat down on her couch and took off his sunglasses. Seto Kaiba shot her a look as cold as an arctic winter but she was not intimidated. "You closed off the whole damn street. If someone followed me it would be your fault, wouldn't it?" She returned to her desk and she too removed her glasses. On her table there was a rectangular placard with a golden plate that read 'AYAME KORODA—SEX THERAPIST'. Underneath that in smaller print was 'and licensed psychiatrist.' "Before we begin, I have to ask. The lack of activity, the empty buildings, the unoccupied diners, this vacant clinic, you and I being the only two people walking this tiny section of earth, was this all your doing? All for the sake of this meeting?"

"I had to make sure we were alone." Out came his uncaring response, confirming her suspicions about the strangeness of her morning. Starting from receiving an anonymous call from three days ago telling her to clear her schedule, to being allowed through a police roadblock, all the way to finding the entire clinic empty when she came to work that morning, it freaked her out. She was starting to think that there was some sort of local emergency of which she hadn't been informed. She hadn't known who it was that called her but she had been sworn to complete confidentiality and had just now found out, the moment she answered his knock, that Seto Kaiba was the one who orchestrated the entire matter.

She shook her head a let out a small laugh. No. No way. Ayame clasped her hands in front of her lips and thought about it. This man could not have been serious. There was an elementary school at the end of the lengthy Spooner St. "So you mean to tell me, that aside from somehow evacuating every man, woman, and child, you managed to stash away every other doctor, nurse, and patient in this clinic?"

"The walls have ears," he replied crossing his legs and arms with authority.

She blinked. Once. Then twice. Strands of dark scarlet red fell loosely over her shoulder. The nonchalance, the arrogance, the gall, woo—it took her breath away and she felt feverish irritation in its place. "You know here in the moonlighting district, I have never had the pleasure of treating a patient of your caliber. However, if you are suffering from the malignant narcissism that gives you the audacity to shamelessly uproot a group of psychologically afflicted patients out of a public clinic, then I'm afraid sex isn't your only problem." Yep. She said it, to of all people, Seto Kaiba. That's right. She may lose her job and never work in this city again, but at least she still had her dignity because it needed to be said. That single act alone showed her that the man needed a whole legion of psychiatrists.

"Well_ doctor,_" annunciating the word with stark venom, "if you have the insulting presumption that you can tell me what to do with my time and money, you have just as many problems as I do." he replied sharply through gritted teeth. Kaiba narrowed his eyes dangerously as many thoughts of what he could do to her life and career ran through his mind. But Kaiba's life had become way too chaotic to take the time out to look for another one of these… doctors. Her attitude notwithstanding, he came to her because she happened to be one of the best at what she does and no one he knew would find him there. He couldn't risk the implications of her coming to him; too many witnesses, too many ways to find out who she was. He kicked the briefcase in her direction. "In there is one million yen. If you're so unhappy with what I've done, do your job right and we can make this a one-time occurrence."

Ayame saw colors. What an infuriating man. She suppressed the urge to throw the young CEO billionaire out of her office and face whatever wrath was sure to come from such a foolish act. Then she forced a smile and pulled out a pen. "What can I do for you, Mr. Kaiba?"

Silence. The room was thick with languor, not even a strand on Kaiba's head moved before he averted his eyes to the ground. Though he was scowling, his face grew hot with a faint blush.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"I can't…perform…" he said in a low almost inaudible tone. Then let out a huge sigh like he had been holding his breath forever. Probably because he had been.

"What?" She looked up from her papers and watched him carefully.

Kaiba cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I can't have sex with my girlfriend. I don't know what's wrong with me." Not much louder than before.

But she heard it this time. Still peeved, she decided to handle the matter diplomatically. "I see. Well, Mr. Kaiba, it seems to me that you've gone to great lengths just for a Viagra prescription," she replied as she waved her blue prescription pad. "Or do you prefer Cialis?"

"ARE YOU EVEN A DOCTOR?!" Kaiba's voice reached a hysterical pitch as he shot up from his seat. There was no longer a faint blush, but rather his face was beet red. "BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE A QUACK!" He could have killed her.

"Okay!" she acquiesced with a grin, stifling a snort as she tried hard not to look thoroughly amused. She just wanted to do something about his arrogance but she had to remember that he was a patient. A patient with a whole slew of psychological problems and personality flaws, but a patient nonetheless. Ayame stood up quickly from her desk to stop him from leaving, holding both hands up in the air. She walked up to him and gently forced him to sit down, ignoring the hole his glare was burning through her skull before sitting in her seat across from him.

"Here's how we do things," she started. "Sex is a very intimate act, and a very intimate topic. There are a plethora of reasons why you could be having trouble… performing." She held her hands up a distance apart to give Kaiba a visual aid. "To break that wall and find out what the problem is, we must first close the distance between doctor and patient," she clasped her hands together, "and you're going to have to trust me."

This time it was Kaiba's turn to snort. "Yeah, good luck with that." A flat reply, with its speed and precision aimed at shooting down the doctor's hopes of that ever happening.

She was undeterred by the attempt. "We can start with our names. In here, I will no longer call you Mr. Kaiba, and not that you've addressed me by name even once," she said with an eye twitch, "but you will no longer call me Dr. Koroda. In here, we are Seto and Ayame. See? Already closing that distance."

Kaiba's face didn't change. The scowl remained.

"Now normally, this is where I would share a sexual experience of mine with you…" Kaiba died a little. How does this woman manage to remain employed anywhere in this damn city? "…but I can see that we should probably skip that." She observed the clenched jaw relax at the words and knew she had made the right decision. Again remembering that Seto was a special case, his neuroticism would probably bring him back numerous times and there would be plenty of opportunities to talk about her sex life to her unwilling patient. "That's it…" she took a soothing tone. "Just relax… and slowly tell me in detail what the problems are… no judgments…"

For someone Seto thought had not an iota of common sense, he somehow felt like talking to her. Was it because they were on a first name basis now? Was it her gentle voice having a calming effect on him? Seto didn't want to believe that. He'd sooner believe that it was because he wanted her to shut the fuck up, than believe that there's actually a method in making him want to confide in someone. Also, this being a kind of last resort to him probably had something to do with it. "It's not like I can't get an… an erection… it's just that…"

"It's just that what?" she asked softly without a hint of impatience.

"It's just that I have to be drunk to do it…" Seto braced himself for the laughter he was sure he'd hear from her but it never came. He let out a sigh glad that he could finally get it off his chest.

"I see. And how long has this been going on?" she asked, writing on her pad much to Seto's dismay that she was creating evidence.

"For about two weeks. She comes over every night, coaxing me to have sex with her, and for some reason I can't do it unless I'm drinking heavily. And the more I drink, the better the sex is." Seto looked away, finding the shame she thought he never had. "I drink so much that I wake up with no recollection of what I did or said and when she fills me in it feel like she's talking about a different person. It's crazy and abnormal and if I keep drinking like this I'll be dead in a month."

_Everything about you is crazy and abnormal. _Ayame scribbled some more on her pad. "Have you tried to have sex with her without drinking?"

"Last night," Seto rubbed his face with a groan, remembering the latest attempt. "I was working late at Kaiba Corp. She's my personal assistant so she has to be there as long as I do."

_How cute. Turning your personal assistant into your personal plaything…_she thought nodding for him to continue.

"Well, she wanted me to take a break, the kind of break that would last a couple hours… and… and I…"

"You couldn't get an erection?" she finished for him with a question.

"Exactly…" he confirmed in a low voice. "But it didn't feel like I couldn't get one, it was more like I didn't even want to. She was kissing me, and touching me, doing all the right things and somehow they were turning me OFF rather than on. I had to feign fatigue, which I'm not even sure she believed because I'm _never_ tired before she is."

"Think it could have been the scenery? Something about work that ruined the mood?" she asked.

"No that can't be it. We've done it there so many times before…" Seto recalled many late nights he stayed back at Kaiba Corp planning on pulling all-nighters but Saeko had intervened.

Ayame raised a brow. _This doesn't seem to be a problem with his sex drive. If a guy as wound up as him has no problem turning his work office into a pleasure palace, I'd say his libido is in peak condition, maybe even too high. _"Okay, here's what I want you to do. I want you to lie down on this couch, and talk about your girlfriend."

Oh no she didn't. "What's wrong with sitting?" Seto saw nothing wrong with his crossed legs and powerful posture.

"Lying down is required," she said and waited for the array of emotions on Seto's face to change to one of compliance. "Now, I want you to close your eyes, breathe, and tell me about your girlfriend."

Seto did what she asked… eventually. The breathing was the hardest part. He felt silly. "Well, I met her a year ago and we started dating a little after that. She's indispensable, one of Kaiba Corp's brightest minds and the best PA I've ever had." His sentences were short and abrupt.

Ugh. Clearly the exercise didn't work. She would have to delve deeper. "Physically what's her appeal? What does she look like to you?"

"She's a ten, of course." Seto said in a tone that was like 'duh.' "She has long black hair and gray eyes, double ds, I think she told me some trite about her measurements before but I didn't see why I needed to memorize th—"

"Stop." Ayame couldn't believe it. It was the most unromantic thing she had ever heard. _Does he mean to tell me subliminally that he's been screwing a woman he doesn't even care about all over Domino for a whole year? What is wrong with rich people?_ "Why don't you tell me your reasons for getting together in the first place? What were your intentions when you first got with her? To fool around?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't start relationships just to fool around. I started dating her because she wanted me to, and I thought that if we had good chemistry, I could even marry her." Seto affirmed through closed eyes.

_That would be a marriage doomed to fail. Can he even spell love? What, is it an alien concept?_ "What goes through your mind when you try to have sex without drinking? How to do you feel during that time?"

"Honestly speaking, I feel confused." Seto began. "Saeko's stunning. Any guy would want to be in bed with her. But when she touches me I feel nothing. And then I feel frustrated because I feel nothing. And then I feel stressed because I don't want her to see that I feel nothing. I thought it was a biological issue so my personal doctors gave me a whole battery of tests but they could not find a single problem, they all say that I'm healthy, too healthy in fact." he said running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I mentally prepared myself for all sorts of possibilities: cancer, diabetes, etc. But I'm more bothered by the fact that they can't find a reason for this. And I can't keep lying to her, and I can't keep drinking, it will drive me mad."

_He doesn't seem to care about her but at the same time he doesn't seem to dislike her. _"Do you feel anxious when you're alone with her? And does that anxiety come from knowing you can't respond physically? Feel nervous that she's going to put the moves on you when you know you can't engage?" she asked.

Seto was quiet for a while. "Yes," he finally admitted.

Ayame stopped for a second unsure how to approach this next question. "How does Saeko make you feel?"

"I told you, she's one of our most brilliant minds, she's indispensible."

"Yeah, I got that. But when you see her, how do you feel? Are you happy? Do you like being around her?" Ayame could not believe she had to spell it out.

"Of course, I like being around her," he concluded before being thoughtfully silent. "Am I happy?" Seto made a face that looked like he had just heard the question in a foreign language. He gave it some more thought before giving a calculated "Yes."

Ayame let out a sigh. She felt like she had just pulled a tooth. _Working through this guy's issues would make my damn career… not that could even tell people about it…_She rubbed her temple. Ayame didn't believe the problem was his girlfriend, although it was so wrong for them to be together if him talking about her made Seto seem this frigid. "Well, I don't think the problem is your girlfriend…"

"Are you stupid? The problem was never her. I told you, the problem is me." Seto's eyebrows furrowed, admonishing her.

Ayame made a fist and bit it. Then mentally recited the therapist prayer for difficult patients before continuing, "What I mean is, I don't believe you are drinking out of any dislike or disgust for your current choice in partner although you are expressing some anxiety from being with her sober. You are drinking for some other reason. The fact that you can get an erection while drunk means there's something about intoxication that turns you on and as you didn't need the alcohol all this time, so I am trying to understand why you need it now. Now you said this has been going on for two weeks?"

"Yes."

"Describe the day this first happened." She put her glasses back on and observed him very closely.

Seto thought about it. And thought about it. And thought about it some more. Thought back all the way to 13 days ago. "It was the day I had to pick my brother Mokuba up from the airport but the car broke down. I pulled into a garage and discovered the owner was a guy I knew in high school…" Seto face slowly started to change.

_Now we're getting somewhere._ "What happened after that?" she prodded ever so gently, being careful to come off as going at his pace.

Seto looked extremely annoyed. "Wait a minute. What does this have anything to do with my sex problems? Why do we have to talk about this? I didn't start drinking heavily till later on with Saeko."

"I'm trying to get every detail leading up to that." she rolled her eyes at his stubborn refusal to answer her questions.

"But this is so unimportant, and has nothing—"

"Do you want to solve your issues or do you want to sit here and tell me how to do my job?"

"Both." He didn't even have to think about it. Both options were equally important to him.

Ayame rubbed her face in frustration, blinked a couple times, and took a deep breath. She remembered that people in her field of work were known for their kindness and patience. "Okay, Seto," Her voice became really sweet. "Sometimes the tiniest minute detail in something that seems unrelated can actually help in finding the main cause. So think back slowly what happened after you saw your friend again?"

Seto made a disgusted face. "We're not friends. We don't even deserve to be strangers."

"Well, what happened after you saw your enemy?" she asked, catching his odd description.

Seto was silent for a minute showing Ayame that she was on the right track. "Well, we went out for drinks and he got unbelievably drunk, so I had to take him to the mansion and put him in one of the guestrooms…"

_Joey stirred as he felt someone lift him from the car. Strands of chestnut brown began tickling his face and he felt very light. Was he being carried? He felt strong back muscles against his chest. Although he was still drunk he was not as drunk as before and had some semblance of what was going on. Kaiba was carrying him some place other than the shop. That's all he knew. That's all he needed to know as he rested his head against Kaiba's shoulder. "Thank you, Kaiba." The influence of alcohol still apparent but he was grateful that Kaiba had listened to him._

_Kaiba on the other hand was very distracted by the fact that Joey's somewhat labored breaths were hitting his ear repeatedly, a sensitive part of his body. He tried to stop from blushing but couldn't and he was starting to feel hot and bothered._

She watched Seto sit up with quickly slightly startled and his eyes shot open as he was hit with faint arousal by the memory of that night. _Bingo. _"What happened after that?"

Seto looked at her questioningly. "What happened after what? I carried him to the guestroom and then left to be with Saeko. What did you think would happen?" he asked warily.

_And the defense barriers are back up and running._ "And did you drink again that night? While you were with Saeko?"

"Yeah." Seto answered unsure where she was going with this.

_I thought so. _"Seto I'm gonna ask you to lie down again, close your eyes, take a deep breath and just let your thoughts flow out naturally…" she commanded him in that sweet soothing tone once again. Slowly but surely, Seto did what he was told. "That night, while you were having drinks, were you having a good time? Were you happy?"

"Yes." Seto responded without hesitation. "But that's to be expected." he recovered quickly.

_You can't convey an honest feeling of happiness without having some backhanded defense for it a second later. Seto Kaiba, why are you so guarded?_ "Why do you think it's to be expected? You drink every time you're with Saeko and judging by all of this…" she waved her hands all around signifying what Seto had done to her street, "…you are not happy. This is not a happy response to good times with you and alcohol." Seto tried to give with a witty retort but she annoyed him to silence by repeatedly warning him about his breathing which fluctuated between anger and uncertainty. "I want you to answer this next question very quickly, don't even think about it."

Seto nodded, up for the challenge. His eyes closed, relaxing his back on the leather couch.

"Why was it to be expected that you were happy that day?"

"Because I was with that laughing idiot."

"Very good." Seto opened his mouth to say something else but Ayame wasn't having any of that. She would not give him the time to think of his backhanded defense. "Does that laughing idiot have a name?"

"Yes." Seto was such a smartass.

"Well?" Silence. "What's his name, Seto?"

Joey was always such an uncrossed frontier for people who knew him since forever, like Mokuba. Not to mention some suspicious doctor he just met who may not even be a doctor at all.

"Seto, this is where the trust comes in."

If he was going to be tightlipped about anything, it was going to be about that, no matter what this bitch said. Fuck this 'bearing the soul' shit.

"Seto, I want to remind you that I signed the 30 page contract you faxed to me three days ago." Oh yes. Seto had indeed comprised a voluminous contract filled with a list of things that would happen to Dr. Koroda if any of their discussions were to ever leak. She was starting to regret she signed it. She now wanted to climb atop the highest mountain and tell the world that Seto Kaiba was a walking candidate for extensive psychiatric research.

"It was 32 pages." Seto corrected her, trying desperately to change the subject.

Ayame was exasperated. She wanted to reach over, grab him by the neck and squeeze as hard as she could. She made strangling motions at him but luckily his eyes were still closed. "And I read every word, including the part where you suggested finding a country without an amnesty treaty." What would possess Ayame to sign this ridiculous contract? She was a psychiatrist. And when she first laid her eyes on that ludicrous piece of writing, after going between laughter and fright, she ultimately decided that she absolutely had to meet the nefarious character who sent it to her and give herself the herculean task of fixing him. Ayame had never had a challenge like Seto before.

As she thought this she immediately started to feel bad for his girlfriend. Ayame was doing all this for the thrill of scientific advancement but Saeko must really be head over heels to constantly deal with this wall he puts up between him and the world. Seto Kaiba was gorgeous, even she could admit that. He hadn't smiled once and his face still looked as handsome as ever. But as soon as he opens his mouth any thought one might have entertained of someday being _loved_ by this guy flies right out the window. Saeko may need an appointment herself. One year? Ayame's spent one hour with this guy and she already felt she could use an examination.

But she had struck gold here. She had made that first tiny step of delving into the heart of his intimacy issues; she had made that first crack in the wall. She wasn't going to let it be for naught. "Fine," she conceded. "You don't have to tell me his name." she told him and Seto's features visibly became less tense. She was going to have to use a roundabout way of getting the answers she wanted. "Let's go back to the night in question. You guys talked for the first time in how long?"

Hold the phone. "How in the fuck does this bear any merit in—"

"Because it does."

"Four years." He reluctantly relented.

"How much had you had to drink at that time?"

"Early on, I was a little tipsy but not anything serious. I knew I would have to drive so I only had a couple drinks."

"What was it like? Describe it to me? What did you guys talk about?"

"It was…nice. We talked about what happened in the four years we hadn't seen each other. I told him about advancements at Kaiba Corp, he told me about buying the shop. To which all the while he was laughing and drinking in merriment." Kaiba started to smile remembering the night, first time Ayame saw it all day. "Then he talked about how great his family was before he started his nonsensical drunk banter. By the end of the night he was so drunk I had to help him to the car."

Ayame was amazed at how easily and honestly Kaiba answered questions that didn't have anything to do with his feelings and how much easier it had been for him to answer confidently when he knew that the guy's identity was no longer in question. "Keep your eyes closed… and just breathe… no judgments…"

"Damn it." Seto hated it when she told him to breathe. He figured out the way it works, he was about to hear a question he didn't want to answer. Right. No judgments, Seto's ass.

"I want you to think about this person."

Seto was starting to become increasingly uncomfortable that the questions were centering on Joey. The request alone sent him back seven years ago, duelist kingdom, Mutou's game shop, and the start of high school. A place he didn't want to go, to the place where the memories of Joey originated. His boisterous nature, his endless optimism, and his infectious personality; they made him start to feel things he hadn't felt in a long time.

"What is your view of him? What do you think of him?"

"He's like a dog. He's annoyingly loud, stupendously reckless, and unwittingly foolish." Seto briefly remembered duelist kingdom. "That moron was a third rate duelist by anyone's standards but he acted like he could take on the world. That's why he always lost to someone like me. He was a nobody, inferior to me in every way." He recounted the many duels they had had all of which Joey lost. Seto remembered how he was always irked by Joey's confidence and his unfailing belief in himself and his friends. His brightness was always buzzing around him, annoying him, irritating him. Joey had been like an ant he wanted to crush. But that was because no one, not even Seto, could break his spirit. That was the one thing Seto had never fully admitted to himself, the one thing that Joey totally outshined him in: the resilience of his soul.

To anyone who was just listening to him, it would sound like he had a genuine distaste for the guy. But Ayame was watching him, observing his features. His scowl lightened, he eyebrows less tense, his fair skin starting to color. His tongue was dripping with venom and yet as insulting as he was, there was a small smile starting to form. He was nearly laughing from the thoughts he was unwilling to share. "God Seto, is there anything good about him?"

Seto smirked at her challenge. As if even he couldn't up with something nice to say? Seto didn't have to think long, he couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across his face. "He's annoyingly loud, but because of that he's never boring. He's unpredictable and reckless, but it always works out somehow. Stupid to a fault, but it allows him to think more with his heart…" Seto chuckled at the memory of Joey putting his life on the line time and time again, Joey had even risked his own life for Seto more than a couple times even though they couldn't stand each other. "He's dog-like… but if he cares about it he'll bite down, and never let it go, he'll never give it up… no matter how insurmountable and unobtainable his goal might seem." Seto said in a low and calm voice. "That guy would never back down from it."

"Physically… what's his appeal? How does he look to you?" Ayame asked with careful precision, fixated on the person he was describing.

That wasn't so bad. He thought about it and after a while an image formed. The image of Joey in his mind was so vivid, so clear, it couldn't be erased. Like he could almost reach up and touch him. "He has sun kissed golden hair, wild and untamed, with light chocolate brown eyes. He's a little rough around the edges but when you look at his back, you feel like you can depend on him. Even when he gets angry… the warmth in his eyes doesn't change… and all in the same minute…. he could flash you a smile that makes you want to smile with him… it's breathtaking… a smile as bright as any star you've ever seen…" Seto was entranced in the countless memories of Joey.

Ayame covered her mouth. She didn't move, she didn't breathe, she was afraid to ruin it. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever heard. So simple, yet deep. Not sexual, but so intimate. It was so effortless, so _sensual_. Seto was in love with this man. Either he was too stupid to realize it, or he had buried it so far into his subconscious that his body was reacting and not waiting for his mind to catch up.

"Seto," she started softly. He could hear her voice in the distance, but said nothing. "Do you feel the same way about him now that you did back then?"

Seto paused and really thought about it, his level of anxiety slowly increasing. "Yeah," he said honestly.

"How does he make you feel?"

Once again, Seto's conveyed his frustration through his face. "I don't know." The most honest he'd ever been in his life. He truly didn't know anymore.

_Let's take the leap here._ "Do you feel… happy?"

Seto's anxiety and frustration reached fever pitch. "No." he said firmly, opening his eyes.

_Damn it. _She was bitchslapped by two of Seto's walls: Denial fortified with Repression. She was crushed, damn near cried. They were so close to a breakthrough. She felt like she had failed, and she didn't fail herself, she failed him. What could have happened in Seto's life that would make him fear happiness to such an extreme? It's almost like he thought happiness was fragile. As if to him, it was so fragile that if he reached out and touched it, it would just break in his hands.

For some reason, Seto found himself holding his breath and no idea why. He slowly released it and let it simmer in the silence. Then he found himself getting angry again. He still had not figured out the source of his drinking problem and this was starting to look like a waste of time. "You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

His comments didn't help her feel any better. She said nothing to his condescending taunts, took her glasses off, and turned away from him. She was starting to get emotional. What was wrong with her? She was a therapist. She heard sad stories all the time and had been trained not to be affected by them. She also knew that in extreme cases like Seto's, it would take more than one try and more than one approach to reach a breakthrough. But despite the fact that Seto had pissed her off from the moment they met, she desperately wanted to help him. He was a man who couldn't even recognize what it was he wanted or acknowledge the feeling it gave him. His body and his mind were at war with each other and the only things left in its wake were anger, anxiety, and agitation.

Seto watched her turn away and saw this as a sign of admission. "So you're going to admit you're a quack now, right?"

She figured out the root of the problem. Alcohol helps him relive the feeling that washed over him during their reunion, the feeling that Seto still couldn't recognize. And maybe precisely because Seto couldn't recognize what it was, it terrified him. Maybe because he didn't know what to call it, he didn't want to face it. He yearned for it and yet maybe that's the reason why he repressed so hard that he doesn't even remember it. Because he hated it. His yearning may have been so deep that it hurt, and he hated it. Seto's problems were a complete result of a dichotomy of emotions. He longed, but hating his longing. He desired, yet loathed his desire. The very _moment_ he was happy, fear would grip him a second later. All over a guy who probably had no inkling of how Seto felt, but who could blame him when Seto didn't know either?

The most heartbreaking thing was that Seto was so… damaged. He was so frigid and unyielding with a coldness far beyond his youthful years. His body knew what it wanted, but his mind no idea. The dichotic clash of these feelings underneath the surface of his conscious awareness showed her a boy who had caged his heart. And no matter how many times she tried to wrench it open, she couldn't. And the fact that she couldn't, resounded in her mind as an epic failure. "I could cry," she voiced her thoughts aloud too distracted to care if Seto heard it or not. "I could just cry looking at you."

"Excuse me?" They reached his ears. A whirlpool of emotions hit him. Confused, because no one had ever cried for him before. Afraid, because if he could bring a licensed psychiatrist to the brink of tears, there probably wasn't much hope for him. But it all ended with anger, who the fuck told this bitch to pity him? "I could cry too. I could cry for wasting my damn time with the likes of you."

He was trying to piss her off again. Why couldn't he let someone be nice to him for five minutes? "You're drinking problems lie in the fact that you are confused by what you think happiness is and what real happiness is. Every time you drink, you think of someone else and relive the one thing you've always wanted and you're too stupid to see that." she stated. It's a matter of fact. She needed to shock him into the truth.

"Bullshit. I'm Seto Kaiba, I'm happy every day of my life. You're just some con artist pretending to be a doctor." And did she just call him stupid?

She dropped her pen and pad on the table and looked at him with serious blue-green eyes. "Really? You call this happy? Would you be here if you were happy? You emptied an entire street, an entire clinic full of people to let one person know that you're happy? You may think you're happy with Saeko, but you're not. And beyond Saeko, there is something deep within you that is broken, something deep within your past that has warped you." She was certain of it. Beyond Saeko, beyond this man that he's patently in love with, lies a memory she couldn't even touch; a chain of experiences that have made him so numb, so afraid to feel anything real, that if they were ever exposed, she had a feeling that all of his walls would come tumbling down along with possibly his emotional stability. The process of bringing this ugliness out would have to be done in a very delicate manner, over a long period of time. And she would have to get him to trust her. But first she would have to get him to acknowledge the obvious problem, a problem he had stubbornly remained oblivious to up until now.

Seto's eyes widened at her tone, unbelieving of the fact that she was talking to him this way, unafraid of what could happen.

"I don't know what you've been doing all this time but sex is not just a physical thing, it's not just completely biological. For normal people, having sex with a person while having feelings for another is a simple and easy task. And you've probably been doing that for so long that you've convinced yourself that you're fine. That this lie you're living is the truth." she sighed running her hand through her loose side braid before rubbing her shoulders as if she were chilled by Seto's condition. She shook her head. "But you are not normal. And there are demons that you're not willing to face right now and therefore you can't do that, your body won't let you, at least not anymore. You may like Saeko, but you're not in love with her. You are very much in love with someone else."

Red flags. Those are not the words Seto wanted to hear and it brought his blood to a boil. "How dare you. What the fuck do you know? You're not even a real doctor. How do you presume to tell me how I feel about my own life? And how dare you spout such frick and frock about that being a valid reason. How do you expect me to believe that because I'm 'in love with someone else' I can't have sex at all? If you want someone to swallow all of that stupid crap you're selling look elsewhere, you fraud." He stood and headed for the door. "You better burn that pad filled with evidence of this embarrassingly pathetic affair. I like Saeko, I'm happy with Saeko, I want to _be_ with Saeko. And now, I want to end this conversation."

"I bet you tell yourself that every day…" Her insulting presumptions continued causing Seto to stop in his tracks. She continued to inflame the lack of feeling living inside Seto's heart. "You lie to yourself every day hoping from deep down in your gut, it'll become the truth." She shook her head amazed at Seto. "Seto, you are so in love with someone else that it _burns_ with passion inside you. But you deny, and you repress, and you reject those feelings with everything that you are and I have absolutely no idea why. And now you, the great Seto Kaiba, are running away so that you may never find out."

Her soft voice didn't make a difference to him. Her words registered as lines that had been crossed. "I'm warning you. You say one more word and you're going to regret it," he hissed.

"I bet it scares you, doesn't it?" she quietly continued, ignoring his threats. "You know it. And I know it. You are Seto Kaiba, with enough money and enough power to get whatever you could possibly ask for. And yet, you still can't have the one thing you truly want more than anything because on the inside you're nothing but a frightened little boy wearing an expensive suit." She wasn't saying it out of any particular dislike for Seto she was saying it because it was the truth. Though the words seemed disdainful, they were full of brutal honesty. But she instantly regretted it. She wanted to truth shock him but may have pushed too far.

This was the first time in Seto's life, that he had ever been provoked to hit a woman. He turned around and grabbed her by the collar, incensed by her words. She opened her mouth to say something as her legs were backed into the table. "Don't even think about it." his said coldly. Ayame didn't want to make him more unstable and closed her mouth her breaths becoming somewhat labored as Seto's all too threatening face was all too close to hers. "You're a sham," he spoke in an alarmingly low voice as he turned his head to observe her even closer. "This was a mistake. I should have never come here to this farce, this con artist joke operation you've got running. You know nothing about me, because I've told you nothing about me, so stop trying to screw with my head and get a real job, you crazy bitch."

Ayame was slightly scared by his tone but that quickly turned to anger as Seto released her. She bit her lip to keep from cursing him out, after all she fully accepted the fact that she had pushed him to that point. Ayame had fire in her blue-green eyes that moment as she let Seto walk away from her and out the door. That's right. She LET him walk away. She didn't care what he said about her, she has heard it all before and she ultimately would have the last laugh. She could stake entire career on the fact that Seto Kaiba would see her again. She completely understood that he was a stubborn prick but that wasn't going to daunt her. She was going to finish what she started. She was going to fix him whether he liked it or not.

That's the reason why she was regarded so highly in the medical world. She had won over almost her patients and most of them were jaded individuals just like Seto. It's because she didn't pussyfoot around her patients and tell them what they wanted to hear. If Seto came here looking for that, he picked the wrong therapist. The only way patients like him are cured is if they are toppled by the harsh reality. And when they felt like it was all over, like the world had brought them to their ruin, they would look up and see her hand there, waiting to be held, wanting to help.

Seto probably wasn't used to that, he probably used to strangers that cared that much about people they barely knew. So naturally to negate his fear of the unknown he used anger and dominance and that simply won't work on Ayame. When Seto slammed the door behind him, the briefcase tumbled over. And what the fuck did he think she was going to do with a suitcase full of money? She flung the door open and yelled after him. "Do me a favor, write a check next time, I'm not the damn mafia!"

_Yeah okay. Like there'd even be a next time. _Seto disappeared with the elevator.

_Neurotic jackass._ Ayame closed the door, fixing her wrinkled collar.

* * *

><p><strong>25 pages.<strong> At first it was 30 pages but I took out the last 5 pages and added them to chapter 6 because it would have made a pretty awkward ending. Tristan is 22 and Megumi is 20. Also, in the manga Tristan has a mom, older sister and brother, and a nephew. I decided to leave them in to make it seem like Megumi grew up in a real family and not make Tristan an only child and it would still make sense for the rest of the gang to not know who she is.

**History Lesson:** For those who didn't know, Japan used to have these strict seclusion laws. No one was allowed into the country and no one was allowed out and those who did manage to leave Japan, a dangerous and nearly impossible task, were never allowed back. That's the way it was until they were forced to open their doors by an American marine, Commodore Perry. That's how the whole mine thing is possible because I don't believe the Japanese ever saw a mine till then. The Japanese call that event of Commodore Perry forcing open trade through the Japanese harbor, the coming of the black ships.

**Sex Therapist: **At first I wanted to make the sex therapist a guy, I thought it would be very interesting. But as I do not engage in any recreational drug use whatsoever, I could not attain a state of being high enough to envision the likes of Kaiba ever agreeing to meet with one. I could barely envision this, Kaiba with a sex therapist of any kind seem unimaginable. Then again Kaiba being sexually active is pretty unimaginable. If you remember on the show he was always getting cockblocked by duel monsters. He was obsessed with those cards as if they were real people. He would trample all over your mother if it meant he could get a rare card out of it. But I'm really glad that I got a chance to show Kaiba's immature side, he may have come out less immature than he really is. I love Kaiba, I really do. But the guy's anal when things don't go his way. I figured if were to ever go to a sex therapist, that's what it would be like.

**Yu-Gi-Oh timeline: **Some of the original storyline still applies but I think it blends a little bit with an alternate universe. After all, Joey's father wasn't crazy in the show and Mokuba wasn't a philandering rock star either. I'll discern them in future chapters.

**Family Guy:** And yes. I got Spooner St from Family Guy. Sue me. I couldn't think of anything else. No. Please don't sue me, I have no money.

Read and Review, I'll update as soon as possible.


	6. The Disappearance of Takeshi Miura

**Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Rant part 1:** So I was writing this when I heard the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial. I was so infuriated that I decided to do the most therapeutic thing possible which is vent through my writing. Now I realize that it's a highly polarized issue and I'm not trying to get overly political about this. After all, we complacent Americans live day by day constantly being screwed over. You've got the US government and a bunch of corporate cartels fighting over how to divide up every dollar you and your kids are ever going to earn, sending your friends and family overseas to kill and oppress other people, rigging the game financially and politically against you and they've got the NSA sniffing up your asshole to find out how serious you are about doing something about it. To which I say this case might be insignificant to all that.

But still, what a gross miscarriage of justice. There was more than enough evidence to convict that jackass of manslaughter. Just like there was more than enough evidence to convict Casey Anthony, the Florida mom who lost her baby for a month and then went looking for her at the party scene. Some shit is just fucking common sense. But something is broken in the system and I don't know if it's a racial thing or if it's a stupidity thing. You don't have to be black to see that arresting someone two months after they've killed their victim after you've already let most of the evidence go up in smoke is wrong.

And this is a crazy fucked up world. At any moment, even in the safest of neighborhoods you can get stabbed, raped, kidnapped, there are crazy people everywhere. So if you're walking home on a dark night in the rain and some guy is following you, first in his car and then on foot are you gonna take the chance in assuming that he's just some vigilante wannabe cop with a inflated sense of bullshit superiority? Fuck no. For me it would be fight or flight and in Trayvon's case it was both. You don't get to chase the kid and then take the coward's way out by shooting him when he turns around and punches you in the face. Florida lawlessness such as conceal and carry facilitates this idea that if you're a pussy, you can just go around shoot people you're having a scuffle with.

More than anything else, think of the precedent this sets. I can go out of my way to accost someone on the street and if he retaliates in any way shape or form I can shoot him dead and call it self-defense? This is madness. The world just got a little more frightening to me. How can I feel safe as a young woman, if someone is following me in the dark in the rain and if I react or retaliate in any way they have the right to execute me? Why are we changing the definition of self-defense? Self defense used to mean that someone came up to you wielding a visible threat or behaving in a particularly brutal fashion. Now it means you can be actively pursuing someone with a deadly weapon and you're just supposed to expect the other person will be pacifist about that shit or you can shoot them? We are calling that self-defense? Insanity. There is something broken in the spirit of America. I've never been so ashamed. I thought we were better than that.

I'll finish this rant next chapter and thoroughly talk about all the things that pissed me off about the case. I think I've bitched enough for now. Sorry if I offended anyone but it's not like I expect to find uber-conservatives reading this unless they were googling stories on guys fucking other guys in the ass.

**To Trayvon Martin, your injustice will not be forgotten. Rest in Peace.**

* * *

><p><strong>The Disappearance of Takeshi Miura<strong>

Joey got back from the construction yard around 5 pm. He usually worked there nights whenever he could however Joey took the day off from the shop since he hadn't received any jobs other than the Mustang and the Integra, the latter of which he had just finished fixing the day before. He had been lifting heavy beams since morning and digging all afternoon so he was covered in dirt and his shoulders were sore but he was in a good mood. The one great thing about working in construction is that at the end of a long day's work they give you the yen upfront which can be anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 yen (**a/n**: roughly $170-$850) depending on how much work was done and what type of work it was. Joey had earned 50,000 yen so to celebrate, he brought home pizza.

When he walked in, he was relieved to find his father sitting on the floor with his legs crossed as he was staring ahead of him in a daze, looking at nothing in particular. It was one of the rare moments that he wasn't drunk. He was completely sober, without the influence of any outside substances though Joey knew it wouldn't be long before his father would ventured out looking for his next fix. There were days he would find his father outside the gate or down the street getting drunk off his face but for now there was an un-frenzied calmness around him. Joey's presence didn't seem to make a difference to him. However when Joey walked in front of him to put the food on the table he looked at him, the new motion introduced into the room. "Who are you?"

Joey paused for a moment. It was a question he heard almost every day but he'd never get used to his own father asking him that. It hurt. No matter how strong he was, no matter how strong he pretended to be, it still hurt. "A friend." he said as he looked back at him. "I bet you're hungry," he guessed, bringing his father some pizza on a plastic plate. When his father didn't accept it from his hand, he placed it down in front of the man with a calm sigh. His father looked at the food suspiciously. Then he looked at Joey's forced smile. He watched the boy approach him then crouch to his level and became frightened as Joey began touching him to check his wounds. Agitation took over his features as Joey lifted the man's bangs to see if his scars were healing properly. He paused. "You know you don't have to be afraid of me, Dad." he whispered.

The man finally relaxed when Joey pulled his hand away. "Where is this?" he asked. He looked around once more. "I've been sitting here all day trying to figure it out."

Joey opened his mouth but couldn't find the words he wanted to say.

"Who am I?" he asked. All of a sudden he started to wince in pain, his head was beginning to hurt again. His hands immediately went up to his head, ripping out his golden strands in frustration.

"Hey hey!" Joey said in a patient voice, grabbing his father's hands. "I'll tell you about it later. Stop thinking about it." The man was hyperventilating but slowly his breathing returned to normal and the pain started to subside. Joey became unreasonably happy. This was one of the only moments, a rare occurrence in his life, where he felt close to his dad. In these cases his dad didn't attack him, and they could talk a little. But it would be like introducing himself to the man all over again. He'd tell him trivialities like how work was, or how he had been feeling that day and his dad on some small level would listen. Sometimes Joey would talk about his dad with him as if he were a different person than the one he was speaking to which on some small level he was. Joey would let him know about the things he missed about him before he would forget it all over again. But these intervals of peace, these breaks from the perpetual chaos living in his father's mind, meant a lot to him. "Does it still hurt?"

The man shook his head slowly looking up.

Joey exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding and plopped down beside him, eyeing his own plate before picking up the slice. He couldn't remember the last time he could do something as simple as this with his father.

His father watched him take a bite and exhale in delight. He was hesitant to look at the boy, averting his eyes many times although the young man remained unbothered happily eating his dinner. "Why…" he finally started, "why do you look so dirty?" James looked at himself as a comparison, wondering why he wasn't covered in as much filth as Joey was.

Joey stopped at the question and examining himself quickly before laughing nervously as he wiped some of the dirt off his face with the back of his hand. "It's no big deal, I just did a little digging today."

"Digging?" James asked through squinted eyes. "Why?"

"You know," Joey changed the subject and put down his plate as he answered James's earlier question, "this place… is called Domino. It's the city of dreams to some people but also the city of heartache to others. Regret and disappointment go hand in hand with joy and fulfillment. But matter who you are, everyone hopes… everyone wishes. Everyone strives towards their goals no matter how big and no matter how small, they inch towards them. To some people Domino is just a pit stop." He thought about his friends who had left the city to accomplish what they wanted in life. Yugi was in Egypt, Tea in New York, and Tristan in Osaka but his heart was still connected to them. He admired them for being able to leave Domino behind. He leaned his head back onto the wall, his golden bangs covering most of his face. "But I have a goal too." His fists slightly clenched. "My dad is somewhere in this city… and so I keep remaining here, waiting for him to find me…"

James cocked his head to the side and observed the young man. There was something so familiar about him. But every time he got close to putting his finger on it, the ringing of his inner emptiness grew evermore louder.

* * *

><p>Stepping out of his bathroom and into his room, Joey ran a towel through his wet blond hair. He had just taken a really long shower and was working the kinks out of his sore shoulders when he looked at the calendar. September 28th. He suddenly felt stressed. Mai's birthday was in two days and he didn't know if he should see her or not. While they had been dating he had promised her that he would always celebrate her birthday with her no matter what but now he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He wasn't confident that he wouldn't do something that would make all of his effort and self-control all these months be for naught. As he pondered this, he turned on his TV to the evening news. He continued drying his hair until he heard the most surprising news coverage, something that caused him to stop in his tracks, suspend what he was doing, and look up.<p>

"Welcome back to channel 9 evening news, and thank you for joining us," the female anchor began shifting papers to report the next topic. "Police need your help in locating 28-year old Takeshi Miura, a very prominent and well known merchant from the city of Domino. Now he's very successful, trading goods with big businesses all over Domino. He also has many businesses of his own in the area, so authorities are worried he may have been the victim of foul play."

The towel fell from Joey's hand and onto the bed. He froze, completely in shock. Takeshi was… missing? _How is that even possible? He was just here… he was just…_ Panic slowly started to grow inside Joey.

"According to his wife, he was last seen a little over two weeks ago," the anchor continued. "He left their posh Domino home around noon and has just seemed to vanish. Authorities urge anyone with information to come forward."

They switched over to a young beautiful woman with a dark green bob cut and piercing crimson eyes. It looked as though she had been crying as she spoke into microphones held by the press. "My husband would not leave for days at a time without telling me. Please, whoever has him let him come back to me. He has a lot of people who need him. I need him. The last two weeks have been a living hell for me," she sniffled. "If anyone has any information or has seen him, please come forward."

Joey felt sick. Takeshi had been such a good friend to him. It wasn't possible for him not to be there. After all his friends had moved on and he was truly alone, the obstacles in his life would have eaten him alive if he hadn't met Takeshi. It was because of Takeshi that he stopped escorting. It was because of Takeshi that he could buy the shop. It was because of Takeshi that he met Mai. It was because of Takeshi that he found stability in his life. At first Joey had rejected him, as he was sure Takeshi was only around him out of gratitude for having saved his life. After knowing someone like Kaiba for so long, Joey's opinion of rich people was very biased. He thought that they were all pompous assholes but Takeshi had been different.

Takeshi hadn't been embarrassed to be seen with someone like him, but rather he enjoyed it. He would take Joey around the finer parts of the city, though it was a matter of Joey's pride whether he wanted to be there or not. Takeshi would stop by the shop from time to time, wasting away the hours talking and laughing with Joey, leaving Joey to wonder if he was actually serious about his livelihood. He would give Joey advice about life and love and talk about his own reckless past. Most of all he was always willing to help, even if Joey didn't want him to, Takeshi would always find ways to help him. Joey always thought that if he had an older brother, maybe this is what it would feel like. Maybe Takeshi is what it would feel like.

Joey cared deeply for all his friends. But at least he knew where they were, at least he knew they were safe. He had never experienced this kind of gut-wrenching dread or at least it had been a long time since the days he, Yugi, and the gang would find themselves in deep trouble. Or at least it had been a long time since the days his family lost it all. Takeshi was the only solid thing in his life at this point. He couldn't lose him too, he just couldn't. Joey picked up the phone and called him, hoping he would pick up. It went straight to voicemail. He slammed the phone down on the receiver and buried his face in his hands. His mind began racing. Why had this all been happening? Then he remembered something really important about the last time he had seen him. His panic reached fever pitch when he remembered that the last time he had seen Takeshi he had shown up with his car totally jacked.

_"Just check it, please! I was on the highway and I couldn't stop, I almost got into an accident! I could have died!" Takeshi was legitimately freaked out. He shook his head and shoulders while checking his phone._

_"Calm down, buddy. I'm sure you've been as reckless with the Integra as you've always been." Joey quickly put his gloves back on and after raising the car he went under. He came back after 15 minutes looking incredulous. "Uuuum Takeshi? What is this? I don't want to get involved but is someone trying to kill you?"_

_His eyebrows raised in surprise. "What are you talking about? Did you find something?"_

_"The brake lines are broken and it doesn't look like wear and tear. These lines are made out of metal, and were cut. With something sharp…" Joey looked at him and then looked back at the car half scared out of his mind._

_Someone really HAD tried to kill him… _Joey began pacing. What should he do? What COULD he do? Should he call the police? He picked up the phone to dial them but stopped when he remembered that Takeshi hadn't wanted him to.

_Takeshi was very confused however his look of confusion slowly changed into some kind of recognition of what was going on._

_He looked back at him for a moment. "Fix that car. Everything about that car. And protect that car till I come back._

Joey's eyes widened. _Could it be… that someone is after that car? No… that can't be it… could it? _Joey thought it was ridiculous at first but the more he thought about it the less outlandish it sounded. Takeshi promised nothing would happen to him and yet he had gone missing right after he had dropped off the Integra. He told Joey to protect the car, why would he say that? The revelation was startling. Joey jumped into action as he quickly started putting on his clothes. "Someone IS after that car… I've gotta do something." Joey locked his door and quickly headed down to the shop.

* * *

><p>Mokuba and Iris were having a night out in Domino city. Domino was the most comfortable place for Mokuba. After all, he was from Domino and people were used to the presence of his stardom. He could walk the streets without worrying about a mob of fans asking for his autograph or trying to poke and prod at him. They had just finished shopping at a boutique in Domino Hills. Iris threw out her old clothes and had decided to wear the new clothes Mokuba bought her out of the store.<p>

They had been dating for two weeks and he thought that he would be sick of her by now, but he wasn't. He found all of her moods to be really cute. She got snarky and jealous when he talked about other girls but not in a suffocating way, in a humorous way. He also didn't think she noticed the subtle ways in which she was selfish and conceited but it was refreshing to see someone living so truthfully. Most pampered princesses have a million and one reasons to put up a front with the guy they like but she was true to herself and didn't apologize for it. Iris was also really interesting to talk to, particularly because she had such a vast knowledge of music and could engage him in topics about his favorite artists. Currently they were walking the streets of Domino Hills, a place that was absolutely majestic in the night time.

"So who are your favorites again?" she asked wrapping her hand around Mokuba's arm whose hands were in his pockets as she looked at him tentatively.

Mokuba looked up thoughtfully. "Well as you can tell I'm a huge fan of Visual Kei…"

"Yeah, all that onstage fanservice with Yuuki, not amusing." she added stirring a chuckle from within Mokuba.

"But I'm pretty eclectic: X Japan, the Gazette, Dir en grey, L'arc~en~Ciel and Miyavi. Luna sea and Janne Da Arc are awesome too." Mokuba listed as Iris looked thoughtful. "But I think the artist I admire the most would have to be Gackt. The guy's prolific."

Iris crinkled her nose. "I think you're much better than Gackt." Mokuba eyed her as if she had just said something outrageous. "I mean yes Gackt been around for a long time and he's great at what he does but I don't think his lyrics capture sadness like yours do."

"Wow, didn't see that bias coming." Mokuba said sarcastically. "So you mean to tell me that I'M your favorite?"

"Well, you knew that already." Iris smiled as she gave him a surprise kiss. "But I'm serious. Kodoku na Kokoro brings me to tears each and every time."

"You know, that song was inspired by my brother." he said. "He's always been such a loner and all. When I thought about him and the way he lives his life the words just seemed to flow out of me."

"Damn it Mokuba you're doing it again." She held his hand. "You're amazing me yet again."

Mokuba laughed at how easily she was impressed by him. All of a sudden a little girl no more than six years old ran up in front of them. Mokuba stopped and observed the girl. Her small frame was covered by a head of hazel-colored hair and matching eyes. She was wearing a pretty evening dress as she looked up and gave him a toothy grin. "Can I get your autograph?" she asked in the most adorable voice Mokuba had ever heard. "Pretty please with sugar on top?" she asked once more holding up a pad.

Mokuba stooped down to meet her at eye level and he patted her head softly. "Well, of course you can, princess. What's your name?"

"Rika." She replied clearly excited by Mokuba's interest.

"Do you know who I am?" Mokuba asked her, a little unbelieving of the fact that he had such a young fan. Meanwhile Iris eyed her warily.

"You're Mokuba Kaiba" she affirmed loudly. "Me and mommy watch you on the television."

"Aww," Mokuba felt honored to hear that as he wrote a personal note to her and signed it. "Shall we go find your mommy then?" To which the girl nodded and held the hand Mokuba had released from Iris's grip earning a scoff from the redhead.

As the three of them were walking down the street, a long-haired blond woman with pale green eyes behind thin black glasses while reading a book was walking towards them. Without seemingly noticing, they soon passed each other without saying a word. Mokuba stopped in his tracks and slowly looked back at her to find that the young woman was still walking away, her back getting further and further from him. Iris took notice of this but couldn't figure out what was he was looking at among the few other bustlers and pedestrians on the sidewalk they were traveling down. Something about the blond-haired stranger was so familiar. He resisted the urge to chase after her, after all he probably didn't know her.

"What's wrong?" Rika looked up at him with questioning eyes only to be met with Mokuba's smiling face.

Mokuba scooped her up. "Nothing's wrong, princess. Now that I've got you in my arms like this." he said to which Rika giggled joyfully and hugged him in delight.

Iris scoffed for the second time that evening before grabbing Mokuba's free hand. "I wish you'd carry ME like that…" she said slightly envious of the Rika's coddled position.

Mokuba laughed then shot her an amused look. "Really? Are you really gonna get jealous over this? Over this child?"

"…No…" Iris said reluctantly. "It's just that this little girl is so adorable I'm afraid she may steal your heart. I haven't even been able to do that yet…"

"You've got a one track mind, you know that?" Mokuba retorted as they continued to walk forward.

"Maybe." Iris replied. "But it's more fun that way." Iris took a second to observe their position and started to feel giddy. A handsome dark haired man hand in hand with a beautiful young woman, while carrying an adorable little youngster: they looked like two young parents with their daughter. Her heart raced and she reveled in the bliss of the fact that they looked like a family, the kind of family she had always dreamt of.

Rebecca Hawkins looked up from her book feeling a wave of familiarity wash over her. She looked around before she looked back at the couple whose path she had just crossed, then cocked her head to the side. _Haven't I seen him somewhere before…?_ She soon dismissed her thoughts as preposterous and she continued reading her book with the lingering feeling that she and the stranger would somehow meet again.

* * *

><p>The Integra was moved into the inner garage where Joey had spent the last three hours giving it a makeover. The most notable changes were the purple tinted windows and the black paintjob. It was past 10 when he finally finished. Doing all he can, Joey became distressed all over again. What else could he do? Then it came to him. There was a phonebook full of numbers that he had left in his own car. He would check it to see if there was anyone he could call to see if they've seen him.<p>

Joey took of his gloves and opened the garage, heading out into the yard as he half-sprinted towards his car. He opened the passenger and found his phonebook in the glove compartment. As he was pulling it out something in the back seat caught his eye. He closed the passenger door and then opened the back door, surprised at what he found. Lying there, where he had left it weeks earlier was Kaiba's light blue trench coat with a cell phone jutting out of the pocket. It made sense that it would take him this long to notice as he rarely his car. To get around to work and such he used his motorcycle.

He slowly reached out and touched the jacket. It had been made with and embroidered in expensive cloth but the action made him think of Kaiba. _Maybe if I… maybe if I ask Kaiba he could help… _Joey thought as he continued to stare and the jacket which provoked such hope within him.

_Concerned. Definitely concerned. Kaiba could no longer hide it. "Look, I was just having a bad dream," Joey began. Joey looked at Kaiba very closely. His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was tense, clearly he was either angry or annoyed. Maybe even a combination of the two. But his eyes, his blue eyes were soft. "I meant what I said about you before. You're different," he laughed at the totality of the realization. "I keep asking myself can a person really change this much in four years? You never cared about me before, you were never this kind, and your insults have decreased at least 50%. If this is an act you're doing one hell of a job."_

"_Not that it's a bad thing," Joey spoke quickly seeing Kaiba's face change. "I can't really put my finger on it… it could be that you smile more or that you seem more approachable."_

Joey smiled. _Kaiba's changed… his face has become softer… maybe he really will help me find Takeshi…_ Joey's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard soft footsteps behind him. At first he just thought that he was hearing things but he then confirmed it when they grew louder. He whirled around quickly to find the same dark green hair and red eyes he had just seen on his television with a hand reaching out to tap him. Her black high heels had made soft patter among the ground leading into Joey's shop as she had finally stepped onto asphalt with a small click. Joey backed up into his car in surprise holding a hand over his heart that was beating faster and faster by the second.

"Hello Joey," the woman said in a calm voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

The moonlight hit her eyes and Joey felt slightly uncomfortable under her crimson stare which now reflected the night glow. "What are you doing here?" he finally asked.

"My name is Sayaka Miura. I know we've never met before but I'm Takeshi's wife." The autumn wind blew through her dark green strands. "It took me a while to find you." she said as she began circling the yard as if were observing the place or looking for a sign of something. It could have very well been her surprise that her husband enjoyed frequenting this end of the city or that he felt totally comfortable in a place like Joey's shop. "My husband has been missing for two weeks. The last time I spoke to him he told me he was going to see you. Did you see him that day? Have you seen him since? Do you know where he is?" The slew of questions was asked in a slow and calculated manner.

Joey opened his mouth to say something but then stopped himself.

_Takeshi was very confused however his look of confusion slowly changed into some kind of recognition of what was going on. He then laughed running a hand through his jet black hair. "Why would someone want to kill me? What did I do to anyone? Maybe my wife knows something about this." He opened his phone and started dialing._

_"Why would she know?" Joey rolled his eyes at him. _

The memory brought on another revelation. Could this woman be the cause of Takeshi disappearance? Could she even be trusted? Should he tell her the truth? Or feed her lies? She looked like a pretty shrewd woman. It didn't look like he'd fool her if he lied outright. "I did see him that day," Joey started. "He brought his car in and then chatted with me while I fixed it." So far that had been the truth. "Then he left after I finished fixing it and I haven't seen him since." he lied hoping he could pull it off with a straight face.

Sayaka stopped pacing the yard and eyed Joey when he said that. She did that for a while to the point where once again Joey grew uncomfortable under her gaze. She then walked up to Joey step by step until she was right in front of his face, practically a finger width apart. Joey took note of the features of her lovely face. She had long lashes and high cheekbones and very little make up save eyeliner and ruby red lipstick that matched the color of her eyes. He swallowed hard feeling his heart in his throat. He had no idea what brought on this unbearable tension other than the fact that he had just lied to a man's wife about the last time he had ever been seen and hoped she hadn't noticed which didn't seem to be reason enough to feel as nervous as he did.

Sayaka abruptly cracked a sweet smile. "Thank you for telling me. I've been so worried about him. I thought I might have been able to get some clues from you but it seems like you don't know any more than I do." She handed him a card. "If he contacts you, please let me know. I'm counting on you…" she said raising a brow before turning around and heading towards the exit.

Joey exhaled at the woman's retreat. "Why…" Joey called after her. "Why would he contact me before he contacts you? You're his wife, aren't you? Wouldn't you be the first person he'd contact?"

She stopped. "Yes… I should be the first one he contacts. But sometimes I'm not sure." she said with her back turned to Joey. "We argued before he disappeared, he may still be mad at me, or maybe he disappeared on purpose to make me worry like this."

"Takeshi wouldn't do that." Joey was positive of that. Takeshi was too great a guy to do something so spiteful.

She turned her head to look back at him. "See? You seem to know him better than I do." And with that she left the shop.

* * *

><p>The sharp clicks of high heels echoed through the night as Sayaka slowly made her way to her car. Once she got inside she locked the door and contemplated for a while.<p>

_"Hello honey. You're surprised to hear from me, aren't you?" The 28 year old sighed and put a hand in his pocket, brown eyes twinkling in amusement and he cracked a grin. "I found the little gift you left in my favorite car, kind of goes against our marriage vows don't you think?" _

"_What are you talking about, Takeshi? Are you accusing me of something?" Sayaka asked in annoyance as she felt a little bit of anxiety. Perhaps he had discovered the one thing she had tried to hide from him. _

_Takeshi tsked at her. "What a shame. I survived, and you're gonna wish I hadn't. Becoming my wife should have taught you, if you're gonna do something, do it right. Leave no mistakes or they will haunt you. Although I do have something that might interest you, we need to meet up. Where are you?"_

_Sayaka became apprehensive by what her husband was about to tell her. It would determine whether he was allowed to live or whether he would have to die. The thought that he could even be close to finding what ought not to be found frightened her. If he ever did he would REALLY have to die then._

But he had never shown up to the café they were supposed to meet at. He had just gone missing possibly taking the treasured item with him. Irritated, she ripped off the wig she had been wearing and long purple tresses fell over her shoulder. She slammed her fist into the steering wheel in frustration. "Damn it Takeshi, where are you?"

* * *

><p>Saeko spent the night again, causing Seto to wake up at around 10. He was hung over and irritable and he couldn't believe he blew off work again. He was going to make it to the office today even if it killed him. Of course he wasn't rushing or scrambling to get ready, that just wasn't Seto Kaiba. But he was always aggravated when his morning routine was ignored: The morning routine of getting up early, working out, jogging, coffee and in his comfy CEO chair by 9am.<p>

Most of all, for the past few days the words of that stupid therapist ran through his mind constantly. Ever since she had outright implied that he was in love with Joey, he took notice of who his fantasies were actually about, something he hadn't really done before. It made sense that she would think that. After all, they hadn't started until he had met Joey again and the one he daydreamt of was adorned with golden hair and brown eyes but he had never taken notice of who it was before now. But this time he was really starting to realize that he WAS seeing Joey, he was seeing Joey everywhere. And it was somewhat frightening to Seto. Unbeknownst to Saeko, who didn't think it was important for Seto to be at Kaiba Corp. since he had already done weeks worth of work in advance, Kaiba had made it a conscientious effort to spend long overdrawn hours at his job. These days he cherished the act burying himself in mountains of work, not out of some special diligence but because if he wasn't working ridiculously hard and ridiculously long he'd experience these powerful spells of longing.

Whenever Saeko brought him coffee, he saw Joey instead. He would be annoyed at Seto for treating him like a servant and would definitely let him know it. Whenever he tried to fire someone, he would hear the Joey of high school days rebuking him for being such a dick, preventing him from doing so. Whenever he worked on his laptop, he was reminded of the days he spent doing the same on the Domino High rooftop where Joey would occasionally come up and sleep beside him. And outside of work, whenever he was alone with Saeko, he saw Joey in the middle of the most intimate acts between them. He would imagine touching his soft blond hair, cupping Joey's face in his hands, and tasting his lips. He would imagine holding Joey's warm naked body in his arms. He would imagine what it would be like to have Joey writhing in pleasure underneath him. And as thoughts of Joey assaulted his senses, he would be aroused in ways he had never felt before, in ways he could only dream of. No matter what he did, Joey and his stupid smile would always find its way into his head and it was driving him crazy. Although in his infinitely stubborn ways he was convinced that admitting it, admitting to himself that Joey was the source of his longing, would drive him even more crazy.

So he decided that he would marry Saeko. Maybe if he did that, these voices echoing inside him would disappear. He had already spent a total of three minutes shopping for a ring which is more time than he thought he would spend, after all rings of any kind had always been trivial to him. As soon as he left the office of Dr. Ayame Koroda, he went to the most expensive jeweler in town, and requested the most expensive engagement ring they had. It was a 6 carat pure blue diamond surrounded by smaller softer pink diamonds on either side. He observed it for a few seconds before he had purchased it without a second thought as he wrote them a check for 10 million American dollars.

He was confident in the choice he made. There were a lot of good points about Saeko and if he thought about it logically she would make an excellent wife. She was clever, exquisite, but most of all she cared so much about him and his best interests that he could hardly argue with her. They were a perfect match, cut from the same cloth of superiority. They would sit atop wealth and fame and rule the Kaiba Empire together. It wouldn't always be this tiring. Kaiba was sure he would grow feelings for her eventually. Whether it took 12 months or 12 years was of no consequence to Kaiba. If it meant that Joey could no longer invade his heart and mind like he had been doing all along, he would force himself to look at only Saeko, to see only Saeko. And maybe possibly he could love only Saeko.

Saeko herself had been on edge. She was starting to notice visible changes in Seto. He was always irritated about one thing or another and he was drinking more. Every time she tried to get him to stop drinking, he would shut her out or lose the mood. She also noticed that his obsession with work had reached grand proportions. There was one night she left him in the office at his insistence and when she returned in the morning he hadn't moved from the very spot she had left him and he had managed to do days worth of work in one night. When she reviewed the paperwork it wasn't rushed or sloppy but rather meticulous and intricate. It appeared as though he was greatly stressed by something but he would not let her know what that was. Even though the sex had been amazing and intimately they had been getting closer, Seto seemed to grow more and more distant. Of course with his insane schedule of a complete work-a-holic the last thing she ever expected was some kind of fidelity issue, in fact she was sure that Seto was above such things despite the lack of opportunity, but Saeko had had enough. She was going to stand her ground and confront Seto about it today. She was going to get to the truth, one way or another.

Fully dressed, Saeko sat up on the bed with her legs crossed and her arms doing the same. "Seto?" she called out to him.

"Yeah?" Seto said somewhat nonchalantly as he was putting on his tie. He didn't usually wear suits to work but he had an important meeting that day at 4.

"What's going on with you these days?" she asked with a bit of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. "You've been acting strange lately, what's the problem?"

_You may think you're happy with Saeko, but you're not…_

"I don't know what you're talking about." He looked back her. "Everything is fine."_ I'll marry her._

"I don't think so." She stood and walked up next to him to help him with his tie. "Even after we just had a great night together you're touchy and agitated and drinking excessively and working like crazy. I've never seen you like this before." She looked up at his face with big gray questioning eyes. "Is there something wrong? Did something happen?"

_You may like Saeko, but you're not in love with her. You are very much in love with someone else…_

_I'll marry her! _He forced a smile. "How cute, worrying over me like that." He put his thumb on her cheek and cupped her face before leading her into a deep kiss. "I'd say you're worrying too much, I'm fine."

She pouted. "Well what else am I supposed to do? You won't talk to me and you–" Saeko was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Master Kaiba," the butler called out.

"What is it, Jiro?"

"A Mr. Joseph Wheeler is requesting to be let in through the gate and seeks to meet with you." Jiro, the butler 32 years of age responded.

"What?" Kaiba froze caught off guard. He couldn't help verbalizing his knee-jerk reaction. _What the hell does he want?_ "Let him through." He instantly regretted it. He forgot that it would be a good idea if he kept away from Joey for the time being. He called after Jiro but the butler in his efficient ways had long since gone to welcome their guest in. Kaiba surrendered to the incoming dilemma with a sigh.

Saeko was surprised at how quickly Seto's mood had changed at the mere mention of this person's name.

By the time Kaiba and Saeko got to the foyer, Joey was already standing there with his back turned to them. He noticed their presence when Kaiba cleared his throat and turned around to face them. "Yo, Kaiba." He greeted with a hand raised and a soft grin on his face.

_She continued to inflame the lack of feeling living inside Seto's heart. "You lie to yourself every day hoping from deep down in your gut, it'll become the truth. You are so in love with someone else that it burns with passion inside you…_

"You again?" Saeko asked somewhat surprised. "This is your friend, right Seto?"

Joey gave her a confused look. "I'm sorry, have we met somewhere before?"

"I saw you the night you came here drunk and unconscious." Saeko filled him in to which Joey sheepishly put a hand behind his head and took on a slightly redder hue from the embarrassment of that night. She held out her hand. "I'm Saeko, Seto's girlfriend."

Joey took her hand and shook it. "Yeah I'm so sorry about that, I wasn't myself that night." Joey leaned in closer, "Sorry you have to put up with Kaiba too," he said with a whispered sigh.

Saeko nearly laughed out loud. "Excuse me?" She raised a brow.

"I trust that you have a purpose in coming here, Wheeler." Kaiba interrupted, not liking where that conversation was going.

_Back to last name basis now?_ A clear sign to Joey that Kaiba was not amused and growing increasingly peeved. "I came to return this." He threw the bag he had been holding in Kaiba's direction as Kaiba caught it with one hand.

"My jacket?" Kaiba hadn't even noticed it was missing.

"There a cell phone in there too." Joey added.

Also something Kaiba didn't notice he was missing. He was using a spare all this time. "You came all this way just to give it back? Since you kept them for this long you could have sold these for a lot of money you know."

Joey's eyebrow twitched at the suggestion. "What is it with you and money, Kaiba? Just because you have a lot of it doesn't mean you should be so wasteful." Joey was clearly insulted by Kaiba thinking he could ever do something like that. "Besides, I just found them last night. I rarely use my car."

"I don't need a street mongrel like you telling me how to live my life or spend my money." Kaiba remarked casually.

Now Joey was pissed. It hadn't even been five minutes and Joey was seeing colors. "Whatever caviar muncher, the next time you leave items in my car I won't do the nice thing and return them to you, I'll do the smart thing and use them as target practice."

"No. As usual that's option 3: the dumb thing to do. The smart thing to do would have been to sell them and help your sorry ass. Just how little do you mistakenly believe I'm worth?" Kaiba was provoking him. It wasn't intentional, it was just natural. Kaiba was trying his best not to be flustered by the situation and he had better control of his emotions and actions when he was being willfully snarky. His astringent words were laced full of disingenuous scorn.

Too bad Joey didn't know that. He was started to believe that coming to the Kaiba mansion was a mistake born out of severe naiveté on his part. "Kaiba, if you had as much money as you do ego you could by the whole damn country, couldn't you? How anyone tolerates you is one of life's grandest mysteries. It puts the secrets of Yugi's millennium puzzle to shame."

Saeko sensed that Joey was talking about her, as a person who tolerates Kaiba, and for the second time almost laughed out loud. She had been watching them go back and forth without saying a word. It was so amusing to see Seto act so… _childish_. She had never seen this side of him before. And to be quite honest, she was jealous of Joey for bringing it out of him. She wished she and Seto could fight like that and then make up but she and Seto had never had a single cross word. They had never had a single fight. "I see you two are very close…"

The two of them turned to her and their mouths agape. "Says who? We're not!" they both replied simultaneously.

Just like when Kaiba heard all things he deemed outrageous, he lost interest quickly. Saeko was yet another person who misunderstood them, just like that damn psychiatrist Ayame. Kaiba sighed put his fingers to his head to quell the headache that he was beginning to have. He could barely look at Joey while he kept up the pretense that everything was normal and that what Ayame said to him hadn't affected him at all. "Well you've executed your Good Samaritan duties perfectly and I trust you know where the exit is." Kaiba stood up to head back to his room and retrieve his briefcase.

"Actually, that's not the only reason why I came here," Joey said stopping Kaiba in his tracks. "I…" Joey closed his eyes anticipating that the conversation would turn south, if it hadn't already, but hoping that it wouldn't. Joey hated asking Kaiba or anyone for anything and his pride was enormous perhaps even bigger than Kaiba's. But he would do anything for a friend, even swallowing his pride and swallowing it hard. "I… need your help."

That was a mood maker for Kaiba. He turned around with a condescending smirk, restraint and self-control be damned as he let out a somewhat hearty laugh. "I can't believe how stupid you still are… after all this time…" he said between breaths. "Life didn't teach you enough in four years…"

Joey blushed furiously. Kaiba's reaction was way more embarrassing than he thought it would be. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded half-angrily.

"What kind of moron comes to a person's house to ask for a favor by insulting them?" Despite this response, Kaiba was overwhelmed by the urge to help Joey. He didn't know what he request was yet but he wanted to help him because he knew Joey would give him one of those smiles that made his heart melt. He knew he wanted Joey to be indebted to him so he'd have another reason to see him again, temporarily ignoring the fact that he had been avoiding Joey since the day he had decided to never see him again, even at the defiance of a licensed psychiatrist's opinion.

"BUT THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE SUCH A–" Joey took a breath, trying to calm down. "Anyway, it's not for me…" He pulled out a picture and handed it to Kaiba. "You know this guy right? Even if you've never seen him, you recognize the name Takeshi Miura, right?"

"Yes." Kaiba raised a brow, his good mood fading rapidly.

"He's a friend of mine. He's been missing for the last two weeks and I need help finding him." Joey said with a worried look glazing over his features. "If something ever happened to him, I don't know what I would do." he added his breath getting a little heavier just thinking about it.

Kaiba's urge to help Joey swiftly dissipated and in its place was an irrational envy. Why the fuck was this guy of any importance to Joey? Why was Joey willing to ask for his help for this guy's sake? It made him unreasonably angry. "You know I'll save the questions on how you know Miura and just get to the point of what does this all have to do with me?"

"Isn't this Takeshi a close associate of yours? You don't care that he's gone missing and something could have happened to him?"

"Do I look like the police to you? Do I look so idle that I would waste the time looking for someone so insignificant to my life, Wheeler? I have a myriad of other traders." Coldness returned to Kaiba's features.

"I went to you because the police have no idea where he is! Are you serious right now?!" Joey was incredulous. A wave of déjà vu hit him as he felt like he had gone through this with Kaiba before. He was all too familiar with Kaiba's lack of empathy. "Is this what you would do if one of your employees were missing?"

"No. We're having a conversation about this which is more than what I would do if this were one of my employees." Kaiba's wicked streak showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. "I would replace them within a day, it wouldn't even become a discussion. You don't get anywhere in life by being a bleeding heart."

Joey scoffed, his blood reaching a boiling point. "This is someone you work with. And even if you don't need him, he's got other people who do. His wife needs him. I… I need him. I can't just sit still when I know someone is trying to kill him. He could be out there hurt, waiting for help. Or he could even be dead, waiting for someone to find him. I can't even think straight because the possibilities are endless and I have no clue where to start. So even though you have more resources than you can possibly ever use, what you're telling me is that you won't lift a finger to help?" It was always like this. Every time he had a glimmer of hope that Kaiba had a shred of humanity in him, he would let Joey down in ways Joey never even imagined. He could kick himself for being so stupid. "I could just kick myself for believing in you again."

There Joey went, getting all passionate over others, placing his hope in people it didn't belong in once again. Kaiba would have gotten angry were it not for the fact that Joey was already angry enough for the both of them. But when he heard Joey's latest words to him he felt strange. He couldn't tell what it was but it bothered him. However, he wasn't about to let Joey get the better of him. "I don't know why you always impulsively expect things from me. I find that habit of yours exhausting."

"You know, I actually came here because I thought you changed. I thought you had become a better person since I last saw you but I was wrong. As usual, you don't give a damn about anyone but yourself." Joey's face darkened, his expression morphed from one of disappointment to one of sheer lividity as he got really close to Kaiba's face. And then his voice got low, to a near whisper. "One of these days when you go flying off that high horse of yours, and you finally get that bloated sense of unwarranted self-importance in check, you'll realize the real reason people despise you. Because from the day I met you, you're still the biggest asshole I've ever seen."

It wasn't a joke, Kaiba knew when Joey was being serious. He nodded in a mocking manner, his smirk did not disappear, and his cavalier demeanor remained all in order to cover up the sadness that was growing within him. "I can live with that. I'll find a way to sleep at night, Wheeler."

Saeko had been standing there watching the whole altercation, barely believing someone had the balls to talk to her boyfriend that way. He was freaking Seto Kaiba, one of the most powerful men in the world, and yet she had never seen someone be so unabashed, so unafraid, and so uncaring to that fact. She was slightly worried about what Seto was going to do to the man, but was even more astonished by this vitriol coming out of Seto that she had never seen before. It was like he was going out of his way to torment the guy. Joey directed his next lines to her. "I meant what I said before. I feel so sorry for you. You seem like a nice person. If I were you I'd leave this fucker and never look back." With that, Joey quickened himself for the door in huff. His chest was tight, his eyes watered out of sheer anger and frustration. He couldn't stand to be near that guy for one more second. He departed, slamming the door behind him, vowing to never to return to that mansion. A mansion that despite all its beauty, was as hollow as Kaiba's heart.

Kaiba looked up and let out a calming sigh. Somehow the confrontation had taken more energy out of him than it was worth.

Saeko slowly walked up to him waiting for him to say something. When he didn't she did. "So… didn't you say you guys were friends…?"

"We've always been like that. Don't worry about it." Under his seemingly calm and unaffected disposition was a storm of emotions threatening to penetrate the surface. There was a wave of remorse and guilt that he had been fighting back. Once again he had pushed Joey away, once again he had angered Joey over nothing, and once again he had facilitated a situation that would make Joey think the worst of him. But why? Why had he done it yet again? Why is it that whenever he was around Joey he couldn't help but prick him with his thorns? Why couldn't Seto help but strive to become the worst guy in Joey's eyes? Seto couldn't fool himself, he knew the answer to that. It's because he knew that if he didn't keep up the performance, there would be nothing to stop him from showing Joey how true depths of his ugliness. His feelings for Joey would overflow and Joey would see how truly flawed he was. There would be nothing to stop him from acting on his innermost desires and Joey's scent, his face, his voice, Joey would finally know how much he truly intoxicated him. Seto could never be that vulnerable. The thought of exposing that part of himself, the thought of exposing that weakness, was asphyxiating.

In that moment he was overwhelmed by heartache, a rhythmic melancholy of conflicting emotions. He was caught in between wanting to go after Joey and wanting to hide from him. He couldn't decide whether he should be sad about what Joey said or happy about the distance he had just created between them. But none of his inner turmoil ever reached the surface. He had successfully remained stoic and uncaring to all who observed him, including Saeko. Saeko… she was the key to all this. She was the key to making all of this go away. He wrapped her into a hug and exhaled in relief as if she were a lifeline out of the hell he had been living deep inside him. He would ask her to marry him and then they would build a life together. Then Joey's importance would fade away. And even if it didn't fade completely at least then, Joey would never have to know what Seto was afraid of. At least Joey would never have to find out about the feelings that make Seto ache for him.

Saeko was surprised by his sudden affection and she wrapped her arms around his neck in response. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"_I like Saeko, I'm happy with Saeko, I want to __**be**__ with Saeko…"_

_"I bet you tell yourself that every day…"_

_SHUT UP! I'm going to marry her! _Seto buried his face in her neck softly. "Let's eat out tomorrow, at Baton Rouge 8:00pm. I have something to say to you."

Saeko's eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat. Could that be the moment she had been waiting for? Would Seto finally say the three words she wanted to hear? "Okay." She said after she got her bearings. She pulled away from him to look at his face.

But Kaiba was no longer holding Saeko. A taller blond haired guy with sepia eyes and firm shoulders had taken her place. He cocked his head to the side with a boastful grin. "Don't kid yourself, Kaiba." A hand traveled up Kaiba's arm and then to his face. "After all, I'm the one you really want, aren't I?" Then before Kaiba could even respond, the young man placed his lips over Kaiba's and led him into a deep kiss. A kiss so deep that Kaiba's resolve fell to its mercy.

* * *

><p><strong>21 pages:<strong> Is it me or is Kaiba reaching his breaking point? He's over here seeing shit that's not there and being all torn up about it and being all complex and complicated internally. Next chapter he could very well kill himself (yeah okay, like I'd let THAT happen). But again it's so much fun to depict the inner workings of Kaiba's mind. It's like a maze of butthurt and misery even though you'd think he'd be happier with all the success he's had. I'm not so sure I depict Joey as great as I do Kaiba. It's because Joey despite all that's happened in his life has an untainted spirit, a big heart, and is very sincere towards people. Unlike Kaiba who let everything that happened in his life damage him and warp his view of the world. He doesn't have as many walls as Kaiba does so it's hard for me to write him in a complex manner, if I have failed you in this aspect, I am sorry.

**Butler: **Okay I felt suuuuuper weird about this. As soon as I wrote Jiro in I started laughing because I really have no idea what butlers are supposed to do. It's such a british royalty thing, right? And I can't use Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) as a reference because Jiro will not do some Sebastian-style ass-kicking any time soon. But I was tired of making female characters and I know he's already has maids so I guess Jiro is head servant/housekeeper which is what I think Butlers are supposed to do anyway. I suppose I can also give him a little bit of Sebastian's diligence too.

**Flashbacks:** You know what I noticed this chapter? I have a love affair with flashbacks. I think they are fucking awesome. I might do them a bit too much though. Spoiler for the next chapter is that there will be another flashback. That's right. Don't say I didn't warn you.

**Contest:** Just for fun. The prize is the never ending joy of being right. Chapter 7 is half written. I'm just trying to decide which things go where. Somewhere in chapter 7 (so far it's in chapter 7) or chapter 8 you're going to see this line: "Look/walk away from me. Look/walk away from me or I don't know what I'll do." Your job is to guess who says it to whom and doing what? Or you can leave out the doing what part. Don't forget the never-ending joy of being right is on the line. I will list the screen names that got it right at the end of the chapter. Read and Review, I'll update as soon as possible.


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